Innocence?
by Mystical Knight Dragon
Summary: Rated for violence and language. Ryou's not as innocent as we think he is...and everyone blames Bakura for what he does. And what happens when this coincides with the kidnapping of Seto Kaiba?
1. The Corner

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Whee! I wrote this when I was very bored in the middle of the night. There is not much humor in this. Please don't be mad at me for giving up my normal humor writing and doing a big angst story. _ Oh well... I'll get back to writing my humor stories pretty soon...  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. Ok? Ok.  
  
Warnings: Mucho Yugi bashing. Some other character bashings, but that's unavoidable, right? Also, I state again: this is not a humor story. Mucho death.  
  
Yugi: *sniffle* I hate you.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Don't we all.  
  
Symbols: /Hikari to Yami/ //Yami to Hikari// 'thinking' "speaking" YELLING/EMPHASIS italics (Random response from me; A/N being Author's Note, and R/A/N being Random Author's Note)  
  
Bakura is Yami Bakura, Ryou is the regular Bakura, and Yami refers to Yami Yugi.  
  
Chapter 1: The Corner  
  
It was done. He would never be able to forgive himself. The worst part of it all was that someone had seen him, and he was forced to run back to his house to hide like the coward his yami said he was.  
  
A voice was calling to him. He tried to shut it out, but it kept coming through to him, despite his futile efforts. "Ryou!" it called out. "Ryou! Where are you?" Ryou just shrank back into the darkness of the corner that he was hiding in.  
  
He had always been afraid of this corner. It was very dark and was shoved in a closet. He had attempted to clean it once but was always afraid of The Corner. The only person who went there was Bakura, never Ryou, which was his reason for hiding there: away from what he had done.  
  
"Ryou!" the voice called again, more demanding this time. "Where are you hiding?! Yugi's waiting for us to come to his...party...that he's having and has most unfortunately invited us to!"  
  
Ryou almost smiled when he thought of how much his yami despised anything social, but then he remembered that is was Yugi's party. He shuddered against the wall as he remembered those crisp, violet eyes and cold, blue lips glaring at him from the dumpster. Why did his yami have to mention Yugi? Why had he done what he did? How could he learn to live with the weight of The Deed upon his shoulders? If anyone else knew, even Bakura, what he had done, he wouldn't be accepted by anyone ever again- -especially not Yami. Ryou shuddered at he thought of what he would do once the Pharaoh had figured out what he had done.  
  
//Ryou?// asked a voice in his head. He jumped at the sound, but recognized it immediately as his yami's voice.  
  
/Bakura./ Ryou answered simply. He didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment.  
  
//Ryou, where are you?// Bakura demanded his light. //I'm tired of playing around. Now COME OUT NOW.// Ryou's eyes widened as he realized how serious his yami was. Bakura never yelled at his light anymore unless he was thoroughly pissed off.  
  
/Bakura, I- -/ But he was cut off as his darker half opened up the door to where he was hiding.  
  
"Ryou?" Bakura asked, very surprised. "Why are you in The Death Closet?"  
  
Ryou shuddered as he saw the knives and corpses around him clearly once the light from the outside shone in. "Just...thinking..." he answered, choosing his words carefully.  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow (R/A/N: I can't do this, but my sister can! It looks really freaky!) at his hikari. "You're acting strange today..." he stated simply. "Now let's go to Yugi's...party." He made a face at the statement which caused Ryou to giggle a bit. When Ryou still hadn't moved from The Corner, Bakura was forced to pick up his light and carry him.  
  
"Yami?" Ryou asked awkwardly. "What are you doing?"  
  
"If I'm being forced to go, then you're being forced to go." With that last statement, Bakura locked up the house and proceeded to Yugi's house (A/N: Is it above or behind?) The Turtle Game Shop.  
  
~*~  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Whee! That's all there is for chappie one. Sorry for the extreme shortness of it, but I hope that the next chappie will make up for this one. Chapter two will explain a lot more, so if you're confused, review your questions. Also, if you know if Yugi's house is above or behind The Turtle Game Shop, please tell me.  
  
Marikay: Reviews are smiled upon and treated with sugar, while flames are frowned upon and...eaten? 


	2. The Dumpster

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: I think I scared everyone off with all of my saying that this was a non-humor fic... Only two people reviewed... _ Oh well. They get all the more thanking for that. So SPECIAL THANKS TO StarStruck (Have you been mentally scarred? And just for you, I won't make it yaoi. I wasn't going to anyways, but I really won't now.) and silver-fanged-dragon (^__^ Kay!)!!!!!!! *gives reviewers chocolate*  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! No poseo Yu-Gi-Oh! Je ne posséde pas Yu- Gi-Oh! Ich besitze nicht Yu-Gi-Oh! Non possiedo Yu-Gi-Oh! Eu não possuo Yu- Gi-Oh! Do you need any more proof?!?!  
  
Warnings: Much Yugi, Ryou, Bakura, and Yami bashing. Other character bashing, too...perhaps later on... Much death.  
  
Symbols: /Hikari to Yami/, //Yami to Hikari//, 'thinking', "speaking", YELLING/EMPHASIS, *italics*, (Random response from me; A/N being Author's Note, and R/A/N being Random Author's Note)  
  
Yugi: I still hate you.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: I know. Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 2: The Dumpster  
  
  
  
Ryou sighed as he saw the store come in to view. He began to squirm nervously as they passed a big dumpster in a dark alley.  
  
"I know you don't like that dumpster," Bakura began, trying to hold his light still, "but that's no reason to fidget so much." The darker half stopped to readjust his hikari, but this just resulted in more movement. Bakura sighed. "There's only one way to solve this fear, you know."  
  
Ryou gulped. He knew the answer. His yami said it often. He took a deep breath and said weakly, "I have to face it."  
  
Bakura smiled inwardly. He taught so well. "Exactly," he said simply as he advanced towards the alley. Ryou began to silently pray that his yami didn't open the dumpster, but he knew that was futile.  
  
Soon enough, they had reached it. "There's nothing to be afraid of," Bakura said calmly. "See?" he asked as he lifted the dumpster's lid. Ryou shut his eyes to ward off what was to come. The lid creaked open ever so slowly (mainly because Bakura was holding Ryou with one of his hands...) making Ryou nervous. Finally, the comment came: "Oh. My. Ra."  
  
Ryou's eyes slid open to reveal Yugi's glaring back up at him, just as they had been before when he had placed him there. The living one's eyes slid down to the other's neck and found the knife: his knife that he had placed there cutting him off from any ounce of oxygen that he could take.  
  
"Holy shit," Bakura cursed once he realized that Yugi was dead. He backed away slowly until he hit something.  
  
It was Yami.  
  
"What's up guys?" the pharaoh asked innocently.  
  
Ryou looked up at him; then rolled out of his yami's arms and onto the cold cement sidewalk. Ignoring the throbbing pain that he felt, he was up in an instant and off down the street.  
  
//Ryou?// Bakura questioned after his light, but Ryou just shut off the mind link and continued running.  
  
Yami began to give Bakura strange looks. "Bakura?" he asked. "Are you all right?"  
  
Bakura looked up and saw Yugi's face reflecting on his face. The thief began to back up when he heard a voice across the street yelling at him.  
  
"There he is!" the old man screeched. "The one who killed the little one!"  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow at the man, momentarily forgetting about everything except the accuser. No one accused him and lived to tell about it. "Pardon?" he asked, using a word that Ryou had taught him to say but wouldn't tell him what it meant.  
  
"You killed the little guy!" the man kept ranting. "He has a knife in his neck and is placed in that dumpster!"  
  
Bakura's eyes widened. How could anyone blame him of murder? Sure he stole a lot, but he had NEVER killed a PERSON!!! ...Ok, so he had, but there were reasons for that. ...Ok, so there weren't any reasons, but that's not the point!  
  
Yami looked at the man. 'A dead body?' he thought to himself. 'It that dumpster?!' Curiosity took hold of the pharaoh, and he wandered over to the alley to take a look.  
  
"You seem to know a lot about this!" Bakura was yelling. Yami ignored all of this and opened up the lid to reveal- -  
  
"Yugi?" Yami whispered at his hikari. His eyes wandered to his precious light's neck, and saw that there would be no saving him from Death's cold grip. Tears dripped down his cheeks, but they were soon replaced by anger: a deep, dark hatred for Bakura.  
  
"How could you do this to him?!" Yami shrieked at Bakura, picking up his light in the process. "How could you do this to anyone?"  
  
Bakura looked at the pharaoh with confusion. "But I- -"  
  
The man across the street interrupted him: "Don't deny it! I saw you do it!"  
  
Bakura began to stumble over his words. He had no idea what was going on. Was this some sort of joke? If it was, it wasn't very funny. And where was Ryou? Why had he run off? His thoughts were broken up by a brick smashing onto his head: the result of Yami's rage.  
  
  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And that's chappie two. I hope you liked it...  
  
Marikay: They hated it.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: -_- Shut up, baka!  
  
Marikay: ^__^  
  
Chibi Bakura: Please review!!! 


	3. Flashbacks and Jail

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Whee! I'm back! Bum bum buuuuuuum! Anyways, special thanks to StarStruck (^____^), random person (^-^ Kay!), and Master of Black Chaos (O_O Long review...; Marikay (My muse; pronounced Mar-ee-kay): I'll help with the whole crocodile thing!; MKD: *glare at Marikay*)!!!! Thank you!  
  
Yeah!!! My computer finally decided to cooperate with me!!!! Finally... Anyways, I'm VERY, VERY, VERY sorry for the VERY late update... _ Stupid computers...  
  
Disclaimer: Me no own Yu-Gi-Oh! I thought I've told you that already...  
  
All other things said still apply to this chapter. Ok? Ok. Glad we cleared that up.  
  
Chapter 3: Flashbacks and Jail  
  
~*~  
  
Ryou was oblivious of everything except for the pounding of his feet on the sidewalk. He began to wonder if Yami had found his light yet. His pace began to slow as he realized again that someone had seen him. What if he was caught?! He had to get out of town. Across the street was a mini coffee shop. Ryou had been there before. They sold maps and bus tickets along with the best coffee he ever had.  
  
He wandered into the shop and found a map of Taiwan. It looked interesting enough. A bus was leaving (A/N: The live in Japan, and, as of now, there is a bridge going from Japan to Taiwan.) to there at three o'clock that afternoon. That gave him two hours to wander around the city and hope to not get caught. (R/A/N: Muahahahaha!!!!)  
  
He left the café with a cappuccino and headed toward the park. He sat on a bench near a fountain in the middle and watched the people go by. They looked so calm and peaceful, the thoughts of death clearly out of *their* minds. He tried to think back to why he had killed Yugi in the first place.  
  
//Ryou!// he suddenly heard echo throughout his head. //Help! They've got me!//  
  
Ryou blinked. 'Huh?' he asked himself. /What do you mean?/ he sent back through the link.  
  
//They've accused me of killing Yugi!// Bakura shrieked back at his light. //I don't even know what's going on!//  
  
Ryou sat still with his eyes wide. Why had they taken Bakura?! Then he remembered those cold, gray eyes that seemed to be floating in mid-air, having abandoned their body. Someone had seen him kill Yugi, and they thought that it was Bakura!  
  
He glanced at his watch and saw that it was 1:15. That meant that he had an hour and forty-five minutes to save Bakura's ass and get back to the bus in time before its departure. 'Is it really worth it?' he wondered. A simple cry of pain from Bakura answered his question.  
  
/All right, yami,/ he sighed; /but you owe be big time. By the way, where are you?/  
  
Ryou thought he heard his yami growl before he answered, //I'm being taken to what you mortals call jail.//  
  
Ryou stopped and stared at nothingness. /J...jail?!/ he stuttered.  
  
//I believe that's what they it's called.//  
  
The light groaned. His yami was going to jail all because of him. And since Bakura couldn't die, they'd probably seal him back into the Ring for the next couple millennia until a new reincarnation came along. Ryou shuddered at how Bakura had always described his being sealed in the Ring: eternal darkness on all sides. Ryou hated the dark, almost as much as he hated death. The second his thoughts wandered to death, an image of Yugi popped into his head.  
  
Soon enough his feet had taken him straight to the jail. He stared at the glass doors for a moment, then lost the courage to go in. /Sorry Bakura,/ Ryou mumbled through the link, /but I can't help you./  
  
Bakura didn't say anything for a while, but when he did he sounded very frustrated. //Ryou! Please! Besides, it's all your fault!//  
  
'Yes it is,' Ryou thought to himself, 'but how did he know that?!' Fear struck him as he thought about Bakura possibly knowing what he had done.  
  
//You're the one who took away my Ring and my deck so that I wouldn't kill anyone at Yugi's party!//  
  
'Oh yes,' Ryou smiled to himself as he remembered the morning of that day about four hours before Yugi's party...  
  
~*~FLASHBACK~*~  
  
"Ryou!" Bakura shouted at his hikari. "My knives are gone!"  
  
"I'm completely aware of that!" Ryou yelled back at his yami. "I had to take it away so that you wouldn't kill anyone at Yugi's party!"  
  
//You know me all too well, Aibou.//  
  
Ryou grinned. He didn't know why, but he did. He looked over at the drawer that he had shoved the knives in. It seemed to be calling out to him. 'Perhaps I'll just open it up once...just to make sure he hasn't taken any of them out.'  
  
The light advanced to the drawer and slowly opened it up. He absolutely did not want his yami to know where they were or else he'd probably go on a killing spree. He reached in to the drawer and pulled out a two-foot long knife and studied it. There was not a whole lot of light in the room, and yet it had a strange glow to it. Though, that was probably the cause of his ring, which was also glowing.  
  
He heard a noise in the hall and quickly shoved the drawer closed, forgetting to put the knife back. "What are you doing?" Bakura asked his hikari as he walked in to the room.  
  
"Nothing," Ryou squeaked at him.  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow at his hikari, but left the matter alone. "I'm...going to go take a shower..." he said and left the room.  
  
Ryou sighed as his yami left the room. Bakura was the one person that actually respected him, but now he had ruined even that. 'Why do I have to be such an idiot?!?!' Ryou yelled at himself.  
  
//You're not.// Bakura told him through the mind link.  
  
/I thought that you could only read thoughts sent directly to you.../  
  
//And if you're thinking about suicide. Or you could have just forgotten to turn off the link.//  
  
Ryou mentally slapped himself for being so stupid. /I'm going to take a walk,/ he told his yami. After making sure that the mind link was off, he walked out of the house and headed for no where in particular...  
  
~*~END FLASHBACK~*~  
  
Ryou shuddered as the memory dispersed. It wasn't too long after he had left the house that he had done...what he did. He closed his eyes and immediately a picture of the deceased one's eyes twinkled in to his vision. The light's eyes snapped open and he tried hard not to blink in fear of seeing those violet orbs again.  
  
~*~RYOU'S POV~*~  
  
"Ryou?" a voice asked behind me. Dare I turn around? Damn curiosity! I did turn around and found Malik staring at me. "Why are you standing in front of the jail?"  
  
I blinked and realized how awkward I probably looked. I was so tempted to tell him my whole story of what had happened...but then again I was also tempted to just turn around and run. Both of these things were out of the question, so I stated simply: "Bailing Bakura."  
  
Immediately Malik's yami (A/N: I shall call him...Marik! *does a Dr. Evil impression*) began to laugh his ass off. "I knew that baka would screw up someday! What did he do this time?"  
  
Malik decided that I was probably a bit touchy on the subject...either that or he decided that the mind link could be open and Bakura could come charging at them any moment... whichever way, he changed the subject by asking me if I had heard about Yugi.  
  
My face paled, and I backed away. Obviously Yami had found Yugi and had told all of his friends. 'Holy shit,' I thought to myself. 'What if they suspect me of the murder?!' I turned around and ran, passing by Bakura, who hadn't quite made it to the prison yet.  
  
//Aibou?// he questioned after me.  
  
I just ignored this. I would have turned off the link, too, but no matter how many times I do that, he always figures out some way to get around it. I glanced at my watch. I had chewed up half an hour already. Only one hour and fifteen minutes left before the bus left. I sighed and decided that I probably should help Bakura, but I really just wanted to get away from everything, especially from life. (A/N: This is NOT going to become a suicidal fic, so don't worry!) In the end, though, my innocence took over and forced me towards Bakura.  
  
~*~  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: That's all for now! Sorry I didn't get this up sooner, but my computer decided that it would only let me type on this one and then it died. _ Stupid technology...  
  
Marikay: Please review while she pouts over having to use a Pentium II. ^__^  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: *kicks computer* O_O PAIN!!!!! *holds foot* Anyways, please do what my muse says...and don't kick computers... Pain...... 


	4. Bricks and Bakura

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Whoo! Two updates in one day! Go me! *does a happy dance*  
  
Disclaimer: Today is opposite day. I own everything.  
  
All warnings and symbols from the previous chapters still apply to this one. But so I don't forget, here are the symbols:  
  
Symbols: /Hikari to Yami/, //Yami to Hikari//, 'thinking', "speaking", YELLING/EMPHASIS, *italics*, (Random response from me; A/N being Author's Note, and R/A/N being Random Author's Note)  
  
Chapter 4: Bricks and Bakura  
  
~*~Bakura's POV~*~  
  
Darkness overtook me and my head began to swirl. A picture of Yugi's deceased face kept popping up, various insects devouring his flesh. I tried to call out, but felt too weak to even make this attempt. When the darkness finally cleared who knows how long later, my head was throbbing in pain.  
  
I raised my hand to the source of the pain and felt a large bump about the size of a scarab beetle. My whole body began to ache and groan with the effort to hold on to the present. My eyes slid open to reveal the gleaming face of Yami. I groaned as he pulled me roughly to my feet. "What happened?" I moaned out.  
  
~*~Normal POV~*~  
  
Yami just grinned and pointed to a brick that had smashed in half. A red substance coated it that looked strangely like blood: his blood. Bakura reached his hand to his head again and found it moist against his fingers. He looked at the appendages and found them dripping with blood. Yami picked up another brick. His eyes seemed to be redder than normal and were saying, "Stay in hell, baka!"  
  
Bakura crouched, covering his head with his hands in fear, waiting for the brick to make contact with his head and hurtle him into infinite darkness again. But the blow never came. Instead voices began to float around his head.  
  
"What happened here?" one of the voices asked. Bakura looked up and saw a man with a black suit and grim face standing above him. Bakura's eyes widened, though it wasn't this man's suit or expression that drew his attention: it was the shiny gold badge that was pinned to his chest that stuck out. The tomb robber's thoughts began to wander to how much the gold thing was worth and how he could steal it.  
  
Bakura's thoughts were broken by Yami telling the police officer that the tomb robber had killed his hikari. "But I didn't!" Bakura shot back.  
  
Yami's eyes seemed to glow, and a faint outline of the eye of Horus shimmered on his forehead. Bakura gulped and, for some reason, allowed himself to be lead away by the police officer to the jail to be questioned.  
  
A few moments later, Bakura snapped back to focus and found that he was being led away. He wriggled a bit to try to escape, but the three officers holding him were too strong. Immediately Bakura's mind swung to his deck, but then he remembered that Ryou had taken it away from him that morning...  
  
~*~Flashback--Bakura's POV~*~  
  
I searched everywhere for my knives, but, for some reason, I couldn't find them. You can't go to a party without knives! What kind of party would that be?!  
  
After a few more minutes of digging in my "Death Closet" (the place with all my knives, dead corpses, world domination plans, etc.), I still couldn't find them. "Ryou!" I shouted at my hikari. "My knives are gone!"  
  
"I'm completely aware of that!" Ryou shouted back at me. But how does he know...? "I had to take them away so you wouldn't kill anyone at Yugi's party!" Oh. That's how.  
  
//You know me all too well, Aibou.// I sent to him. Now to find the knives... 'Perhaps Ryou is still hiding them. So where he is, that could be where the knives are!'  
  
But where was Ryou...?  
  
I was walking by a room when I heard a huge CLANKing sound. I looked into the room and saw Ryou standing next to a drawer. 'Aha!' "What are you doing?" I asked him, walking into the room.  
  
"Nothing," my light squeaked at me.  
  
I raised an eyebrow, knowing what he must be doing, but decided to play along. "I'm...going to go take a shower..." I said and left the room. Perhaps while he's gone I can go back into the room and steal my knives back.  
  
I heard Ryou mentally sigh. That baka. He always forgot to turn off the link. /Why do I have to be such an idiot?/ I knew that thought was not directed to me, but for some reason I heard it anyway.  
  
//You're not.// I told him.  
  
/I thought you could only read thoughts sent directly to you.../  
  
//Or you could have just forgotten to turn off the link.//  
  
/I'm going to go take a walk./  
  
'Yes!' I thought to myself. 'I get to get my knives back!!!'  
  
~*~End Flashback---Normal POV~*~  
  
Bakura shuddered as he remembered what he did next: he had grinned like a foolish idiot. He hated showing expression, especially happiness. But then again, he had remembered to retrieve a knife, which was still under his shirt---  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
---right where that officer had just placed his hand.  
  
"What the fuck was that?!" the officer yelled as he clutched at his bleeding hand.  
  
Bakura smirked. "My knife," he stated simply.  
  
"The one that you killed Yugi with?" another officer asked.  
  
Bakura's eyes widened. "But I didn't kill anyone!"  
  
"Sure you didn't," the third officer spoke, trying to remove the knife strapped to Bakura's back.  
  
//Ryou!// he yelled to his hikari. //Help! They've got me!//  
  
/What do you mean?/ he asked.  
  
"Do you have any other knives with you?" the second officer asked.  
  
"No!" he spat at him. //They've accused me of killing Yugi! I don't even know what's going on!// "And I didn't kill anyone!"  
  
"That's what they all say," said the first officer, who had somehow managed to get some gauze wrapped around his hand.  
  
"I didn't!" Bakura lunged at the officer, only to be hit in the head with the barrel of a gun, right where the brick had smashed earlier. He screamed out in pain and sank to the ground.  
  
/All right (R/A/N: What is the difference between "all right" and "alright"?) Yami,/ Ryou sighed, /but you owe me big time. By the way, where are you?/  
  
The same officer raised the barrel of his gun again to try to make Bakura unconscious. The only thing the tomb robber could manage was a growl. //I'm being taken to what you foolish mortals call jail.//  
  
/J...jail?!/  
  
//I believe that's what it's called.//  
  
Bakura heard Ryou moan but wasn't paying too much attention, for there was a gun pointed at him right between the eyes. Sure Bakura couldn't die again, but a shot to the brain would take away quite a bit of knowledge and perhaps might send him back into the ring again since he wouldn't be able to use the organ up there until a new reincarnation came along.  
  
/Sorry Bakura, but I can't help you./  
  
Bakura's eyes widened. //Ryou! Please! It's your fault! You're the one who took away my Ring and my deck so that I wouldn't kill anyone at Yugi's party!//  
  
~*~Bakura's POV~*~  
  
/"Ryou?"/  
  
'That wasn't Ryou's voice...' I thought to myself. 'He must have forgotten to turn off the link again.'  
  
"Are you ready to cooperate?" the third officer asked me. I snarled at him only to have him kick me hard in the stomach. "I'm going to ask you one more time: are you ready to cooperate?"  
  
/"Why are you standing in front of the jail?"/ The other person was speaking again.  
  
So Ryou was at this jail place. My breath was coming in short, little gasps, so all I could manage was a nod to the officers before I was pulled to my feet and we began to walk.  
  
/"Bailing Bakura."/ Ryou's voice.  
  
I began to hear laughter echoing around me. /"I knew that baka would screw up someday! What did he do this time?"/ Was that Marik's voice? If it was, I'd have to kick his ass later.  
  
No one answered Marik's inquiry. Instead, Malik asked if Ryou had heard about Yugi. I didn't hear this question through the link; instead, I heard it as if it were only a few feet away. I looked up and saw Malik, a laughing Marik, and a very pale Ryou.  
  
/Do they suspect me...?/ I thought I heard Ryou mumble very quietly. Suddenly, Ryou whipped around and ran past me down the street.  
  
//Aibou?// I questioned after him.  
  
I got no response. Just the sound of his pounding feet on the sidewalk.  
  
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. The pressure of being accused for a murder and no hope for getting out of this mess put its full weight upon me. I sank to my knees and began to cry: something I hadn't done in 5000 years.  
  
I looked up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Malik and Marik were standing over me, thought it wasn't there hand: it was one of the officer's: the one who's hand was *still* bleeding. Gosh. Foolish weakling.  
  
"Get up," he snarled at me.  
  
My mind did not want to obey  
  
But my body did.  
  
So I followed the officer  
  
Into the building  
  
Out of fear  
  
So deep  
  
That it was blacker  
  
Than the Shadow Realm itself.  
  
~*~  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And there's chapter four for you. I hope you liked it.  
  
Yugi: It was terrible. I'm still dead.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Of course. You can't just wake up from being dead.  
  
Yugi: *picks up Marikay* I'm holding him ransom until you bring me back.  
  
Baku (my other muse): That's going to take a while because she's not bringing you back.  
  
Chibi Bakura: Pwease review!!! ^___^ 


	5. Why do the Innocent Cry?

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And heeeeeeeeere's chapter five!  
  
Marikay: Can you get any lamer?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Actually, yes. But for now, I'd just like to thank my reviewers: Bakuras-Hell (Ok! Thanks! You get a pony! Yeah! A pony! A pony!), Yami Moto (Yes... Someone did have to die... Muahaha!), Artistic Authoress, and DemonSurfer (Making people suffer is fun!! ^__^)!!!! Yeah!!! Thank you!!  
  
Disclaimer: Do you see the word right before this that starts with a "d" and ends with an "r"? It means that I disclaim everything. Hence why I'm not going to go into detail about me not owning anything, which I don't.  
  
It's symbol time!!! Symbols: /Hikari to Yami/, //Yami to Hikari//, 'thinking', "speaking", YELLING/EMPHASIS, *italics*, (Random response from me; A/N being Author's Note, and R/A/N being Random Author's Note (An Author's Note has something to actually do with the story line/plot, but the Random Author's Note is just some random thought that pops up in my head while I'm typing.))  
  
Warning: I just ate chocolate, so be forewarned if this thing gets a little wacky and sugar induced.  
  
(It's a fish!!! ...Just use your imagination...)  
  
Chapter 5: Why do the Innocent Cry?  
  
~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
  
I turned around and ran back the way I had come. Crap. I hate being so nice all the time. I had one hour before the bus left.  
  
Before I knew it, I was in the jail and at the main desk. (A/N: I've never been to a jail before, so what I say might not be completely accurate.)  
  
"What do ya want?!" the warden roared at me.  
  
I could hardly speak I was so frightened. "I...uh...is Bakura here?" I somehow managed to stutter out.  
  
The warden glared. "Yes that fucking psycho is here. He'll be executed tomorrow, so don't worry. He'll be out of everyone's way once and for all."  
  
My eyes widened. If these humans found out that Bakura couldn't die, that would be terrible! They'd find out all about the Millennium Items, the god cards, ancient Egypt, and, worst of all, the spirits residing within the items. They'd find out about the Shadow Realm, and the world would be taken over---again! They'd probably even force Yami to seal Bakura inside the Ring again! I needed to get him out of this mess.  
  
"Doesn't he get a trial or something?" I asked, hoping that he would. I might be able to turn myself in for him.  
  
"No." The warden said it so plainly that it made me shrink back in fear.  
  
//Ryou?// Bakura. What if he knows about his execution...? //Ryou? Where are you?//  
  
/I'm at the front desk./ If he knew he would have to be sealed in the Ring again all hell would break lose. And more innocent lives would be claimed.  
  
//Oh, Ra, Ryou! (R/A/N: Haha! That sounds funny!) Get me out of here!// His voice shook so much with fear that his words were almost incomprehensible. Bakura wasn't scared very easily, so it must be something superly (R/A/N: That's my word that I think I made up! ^__^) terrifying. //By Ra, Ryou! Stop thinking and get your fucking ass in here now!//  
  
I opened my mouth to speak to the warden, but was too terrified. I looked at my watch and saw that I had fifty minutes left. That wasn't a whole lot of time to do what I had to do. I heard a scream echoing through my head. That made up my mind for me.  
  
I was just about to run towards the jail cells when I realized that I would look pretty awkward. I needed to think of an excuse---and fast.  
  
"Pardon me, Sir, but where are your restrooms?" Wow that was some lame excuse. Bakura must've thought so, too, for he immediately began to talk to me.  
  
//Ryou, that was the---AAHHHH!!!//  
  
And that's where it cut off. I suppose he didn't want me to hear him be tortured...  
  
"They're down at the end of the prison cells." The warden speaking to me jerked me out of my thoughts. It took me a moment to realize what he was talking about. I blinked a few times before he asked if I wanted someone to take me there.  
  
"No thanks," I told him immediately. I didn't want anyone figuring out where I was really going. Actually, even I didn't know where I was going. I looked at my watch again. 'That's funny,' I thought to myself. 'After all that, I still have fifty minutes left...' I thought I heard a chuckle echoing throughout my mind, but it just erupted in another scream from Bakura.  
  
//Ryou!// he hissed. //Get your scrawny, little ass in here now and get me out of this hellhole!//  
  
/Hold on, Bakura! I'm trying to go as fast as I can!/  
  
//Well, stop trying and get in he---AAAHHHH!!! IT BURNS!!!//  
  
/Why don't you just go to your soul room?/  
  
//Because they confiscated *everything* from me! I have nothing left!//  
  
I came back to the present and realized that I was staring at a door labeled "Torture Chamber". A whip sliced through the air and made contact with something. A bloodcurdling scream erupted through the air at the exact same time that Bakura screamed through the link. 'This must be it,' I thought to myself. Subconsciously, my hand made contact with the doorknob and slowly began to turn it.  
  
Immediately, I stopped turning the knob when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whipped around and saw Marik standing there.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" he snarled.  
  
I was about to answer when I heard the whip crack through the air again. Tears began to well up in my eyes. That should be me in there with the blood trickling down my back from open wounds made from the thin leather of the whip. I'm the one who ki8lled Yugi. Me. Not Bakura. Not anyone else. Me. I'm the one who shoved the knife into his neck, cutting off his last little bit of oxygen.  
  
Me.  
  
Not Bakura.  
  
"I asked you a question!" he snarled. Gee... What crawled up his ass and died?  
  
" I have to get Bakura out of here." I tried to be pleasant. I really did! But sometimes "trying" isn't good enough. I had said it so plainly that anyone else would have dropped the subject right then and there. But Marik was not anyone else. The yami slammed m into the wall and pulled out a knife encrusted with blood and stuck it to my head.  
  
"I know it was you," he said angrily. "I don't think anyone else has guessed it, but I know it was you!"  
  
"I don't have time for this Marik! I have to go!"  
  
"No."  
  
I tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. He was like a brick wall that could move on its own. I raised my fist to punch him, but he just grabbed my hands and pinned them above my head.  
  
"You can't go around killing any more people," he spat out.  
  
Why did he care about killing people? He probably killed people all the time! What was Yugi to him? Just another mortal blocking his path that could be struck down and turned into food. Wait a minute... Did he know about Yugi? Oh, Ra! He had to know! Why else would he just randomly bring up me killing other people?! But *how* did he know?  
  
My thinking process stopped the moment he punched me in the stomach. I tried to fall, but it didn't work. He was holding me by my arms too tightly.  
  
Before the pain could lessen even the tiniest bit, my thoughts were back to how he could have known about me killing Yugi. There was only one witness...that I saw... Oh crap. Oh well. I needed to think about this later. Right now I had to get Bakura out of this mess that I had created. Another scream of pain and torture ripped through the air. My eyes widened. I needed to help him---fast.  
  
My foot shot up and went as far up and my inflexibility would allow it. Marik fell upon the ground clutching his groin. Oh well. He probably would make any children anyways.  
  
I whipped around and swung open the Torture Chamber door just as the whip cracked through the air again. My arms burned from the pain of Marik's grip on them, but I couldn't worry about that at that moment. I had to worry about Bakura. And there he was---lying right in front of me.  
  
My eyes widened as I realized that Bakura wasn't joking when he said that they had confiscated *everything*. My yami was on the ground completely void of everything except for his boxers and huge red welts coating his back. The horrid whip slashed through the air again and made contact with Bakura's bare back sending him into a fit of salty tears. He tucked his knees up to his chest in order to make himself smaller and sobbed as the whip reopened the wounds that were beginning to close up.  
  
*And we don't know why  
  
The innocent cry  
  
Will this world ever find a way to change?  
  
And we don't know why  
  
But we know it's not right  
  
We don't know why so many have to die  
  
We don't know why so many have to die  
  
And we don't know why  
  
The innocent cry  
  
Will any of us ever be the same?  
  
Will any of this ever be the same?*  
  
  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And there's chapter five! Be proud! Oh, I took the song at the end ("The Innocent") from "Good Charlotte, Mest, and Goldfinger". It's not mine. It's theirs. Though I did alter it a little so that it fit into my story correctly.  
  
Baku: She looked it up and at first it did say cry, but then she looked it up again and it said die.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: I was confoosed.  
  
Marikay: Confoosed?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Yes. Confoosed.  
  
Chibi Bakura: *sweatdrop* Please review!  
  
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	6. A Bloody Hell Full of Burning Sensations

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: I'm back...again...with another chapter! Are you confused yet? I was. I just now figured out why Ryou killed Yugi. I'm a bit slow sometimes... Anyways, my faithful reviewers get twelve thumbs up! Two from me, and two from each of the five people that live inside my head!  
  
Marikay: Special thanks to: Bakuras-Hell and DemonSurfer!!!!  
  
Disclaimer: If you do this once, why do you have to do it again? I don't understand that... Ah well... I don't own anything that you say I do. I don't even own my mind anymore! It's been taken over, mainly by Marikay and Baku... I do own The United Mini-American Republic of the Aardvarks, which, by the way, does *not* appear in this story...  
  
Warning: This is my "Torture the Very Hot Bakura" chapter, hence I shall torture him until he cries, which you found out last chapter. The chapter title may sound a bit...odd...but I was tired when I just randomly thought of it. And, since this is mostly in Bakura's point of view (POV), there will be a lot of cussing.  
  
Yaoi Warning: There will be a tiny bit of yaoi (maleXmale) in here, but I shall give the homophobes a warning before I do it, ok? Ok.  
  
****Please Read!!! This actually has to do with the story!!!****: This is proof of my idiocy... When I was trying to find a place for Ryou to go to, I had just glanced at the map in front of me. Today, in the middle of class, I looked up Tripoli in my Social Studies book and saw that it was the capital of Libya... Somehow, I misread Taiwan and read it as Tripoli. I am so stupid! XP The point of this is that Ryou is *not* going to Tripoli, but to Taiwan. Please forgive me of my stupidity.  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 6: A Bloody Hell Full of Burning Sensations  
  
~*~Bakura's POV~*~  
  
Why did he always run from me? Sure I am scary and a bit...psychotic... But I'm his yami, and he shouldn't run from me...  
  
"That's right," said a little voice in my subconscious mind. "He shouldn't run..."  
  
I snapped back to reality and realized that the voice was coming from one of the three police officer's mouths...  
  
Oh, Ra. My hands were tied together behind my back with some sort of metal gadget. Damn their fucking modern crap. Everything should go back to being simple like it was in Egypt. Not complicated like it is now. I tried to get my hands out of their bindings, but failed miserably. Fuck escaping! I'll just run!  
  
I tried to run. I really did! But sometimes trying isn't enough. I tripped on air. And fell on my face. And was knocked unconscious. Again.  
  
Why am I so weak that I can go unconscious so easily?  
  
Why am I so fucking weak?  
  
~*~  
  
Some time later I opened my eyes to be surrounded by laughter.  
  
"And then that klutz tripped and probably broke his leg!" More laughter. And I was pretty sure they were laughing at me. I don't like laughter. In fact, I fucking hate it. I grinned sadistically. Those foolish mortals just signed their death wish.  
  
I tried to move, but my hands were still tied in that metal contraption, and now my feet were, too. I looked over it and saw that there was no way that I could get out of it. I could probably try, but everything I had done so far had screwed up royally.  
  
'Perhaps I could try to stand...' I got up on both my legs pretty easily, but a sharp jolt of pain shot up through my legs as they made a sickening crunching sound. I closed my eyes and bit my lip to keep away the agonizing pain, but all that did was make my lip bleed. At last, I couldn't stand it any longer. I screamed and fell down. More laughter. Ra curse them. That's all *I* could do. I sat there and muttered the most obscene words that I could think of under my breath.  
  
"What do you want me to do with him?" laughed the one with the sliced hand. (R/A/N: Sharp, pointy objects are pretty... ^__^)  
  
A man behind a big desk just grunted and shrugged his shoulders. He could not get any lazier or sloppier. He was reading a newspaper with his feet propped up on the desk; part of the paper that he was reading was open on the floor, sopping up some coffee that he had spilled; papers were scattered all over the desk and were littered with what appeared to be doughnut crumbs; a chipped coffee mug was tottering dangerously on the edge of the desk; a file cabinet was open behind his swivel chair and had what looked to be very important papers pouring out of it; and his beer belly was hanging out of his very casual ripped-up blue jeans.  
  
'What the fuck is wrong with humans these days?' I randomly asked myself. 'Do they *want* to seem like the fat, lazy slobs that they are?'  
  
"Shall I take him to one of the cells?" a different officer asked.  
  
"Search him first," grunted the man behind the desk. Another man began to walk toward me when the man behind the desk (R/A/N: It's a bit repetitive, isn't it?) added: "And confiscate everything he has."  
  
"Be careful," said the man who had cut himself on my sword (A/N: I am tired of calling him that! He is now Officer Sherben! ...For some reason I was thinking of sherbet when I named him... o_O) as he held up his bandaged hand. "He's the one who gave me this." Carefully, he unwrapped the bandage he had around his hand; the last couple layers were almost completely covered with his blood. When the gauze was all off, a deep cut was hardly distinguishable on the palm of his hand, for the blood oozing out of it tore it from view.  
  
"Oh, crap," Officer Sherben muttered. "Now I have to go and get a new bandage..." As he walked off, blood dripped off his hand showing a trail of where he was going.  
  
"When you get back," said the man behind the desk (A/N: I shall call him... Officer Fushidara!), "you'd better clean up the mess you just made! I don't want blood on this floor! The mayor might walk in at any moment and think that we're torturing all of our prisoners!"  
  
"But I thought we were---"  
  
"Quiet!" A worried look crossed Officer Fushidara's face, but it soon passed. "It doesn't matter what we *are* doing... All that matters is that no one finds out about it!"  
  
I was thoroughly confused. What did they mean by that? That's like the whole do you know that I know that you know that I know that you know blah blah blah thing... ...Where'd that come from...? Aww, fuck. That bitch, Téa, or whatever, must be rubbing off on me. Why does Ryou always have to hang out with her? Yuck. She makes me sick.  
  
Something caught me under both arms and heaved me off the floor. "We're gonna have a lot of fun with you," a voice whispered in my ear.  
  
My eyes widened. What did he mean by that?!  
  
I tried to wriggle myself out of his grip, but he held me too tight. I would have hit or kicked him, but my hands and feet were still in that metal contraption. Argh. Every time I try to get out of those things, they cut into my skin until the blood begins to drip down my hands and onto the floor. Something hit me on the side of my head and a voice snarled in my ear:  
  
"Don't you dare drip any more blood on the floor or I swear I'll kill you."  
  
I looked up and saw that Officer Fushidara was holding what looked like some sort of horsewhip, its tip dripping with a small about of blood. I pulled my face into a snarling, sadistic grin. Blood dripped from the stinging pain at the side of my head and past the corner of my mouth. My tongue flicked out and caught the drop.  
  
The officers stared at me like I was mental. I gathered some of the blood that was dripping past my mouth onto my tongue and smeared it along my lips so that they began to drip, too. I was getting closer to my goal: they were beginning to be afraid of me. Perhaps they would be so frightened that they would leave me alone.  
  
Growling filled the whole hallway that we were in...but...that wasn't...*human* growling... I slowly turned around. There was the oddest looking---what did Ryou call them?---dog that I had ever seen. Its ears were like little triangles; its brown eyes crimson from hate; deep, dark growls were emitting from its furry, gray throat; the fur along its back was sticking straight up all the way down its sloping hips and to the tip of its long tail.  
  
I grinned nervously at it, and I swear it could smell my fear. It wasn't the growling or the hackles that scared me, but the rows and rows of sharp, white teeth that it held in its drooling mouth: drooling for blood: my blood that was dripping down my face.  
  
"Good boy," said Officer Sherben, the one who was holding me so that I wouldn't run off. I felt him reach up and wipe his face, exhaling heavily. His grip tightened on me and led me into a room. I was just able to read the lettering hand-sketched deep, but messily, into the wood: Torture Chamber.  
  
"Confiscate everything he has before you do anything to him," said Officer Fushidara.  
  
"Sure thing, boss," said Officer Sherben, grinning sadistically as his boss left the room, leaving the dog in there to glare at me.  
  
"Let's see what you have on you," said Officer Sherben, putting on gloves. I guess he did that so he did that so he wouldn't cut himself again. Ha! Foolish mortal! Does he not realize that wimpy gloves like that are not going to protect him from the knives that I managed to sneak from my house?  
  
I felt my shirt being ripped from my body, leaving me feeling exposed. Sure I slept without a shirt on and went swimming---I think that's what Ryou called it---but I had never had any article of clothing torn from me while my hands and feet were tied.  
  
//Ryou?// I called to my hikari.  
  
'Bakura...' I heard him think. Humph. His thoughts are always too loud. Ah well. 'I wonder if he knows about his execution...?' *What?!?!*  
  
//Ryou? Where are you?//  
  
/I'm at the front desk./ This time he actually meant to send that. Wait a minute... At the front desk?!?!  
  
//Oh Ra, Ryou! Get me out of here!// I shivered as Officer Sherben began to talk again:  
  
"Well, well, well... What do we have here?" I grinned. He must've found the knives strapped to my back. I was very surprised when he walked around to the front of me. For a moment I thought that he was staring at my abs, but then I realized what had interested him so much: *my ring*.  
  
I felt my face drain of its color. This was my main source of life! Plus, Shadi and Ryou would probably kill me if it was ever taken away from me! Wait a minute... *Ryou was at the front desk?!?!*  
  
//By Ra, Ryou! Stop thinking and get your fucking ass in here now!//  
  
Officer Sherben touched the Eye of Horus on my Ring. I began to shake with fear and fury. Perhaps if I could just reach into my pocket and pull out my Morphing Jar, everything would be fine! But then again there was that dog in the corner... I shuddered. 'I hate mortals...' Oh well. I'm going to at least *try* to defend myself.  
  
As slowly as I could I reached toward my pocket. The officer was now running his finger along the smooth metal surrounding the Eye. I heard Ryou, rather distantly, knowing that he needed an excuse to get to the jail cells. Ra... Why can't he keep his damn thoughts to himself?  
  
At last I had gotten my hand into my pocket and was pulling out the top card, not even caring what it was at this point, when I heard Ryou speak--- not to me, but to someone else. He never was good at confiscating his thoughts from me... Oh well. I couldn't really think of that now. I needed full concentration to tap into the Millennium Ring's power.  
  
/"Pardon me, sir, but where are your restrooms?"/  
  
I mentally slapped myself. Not only was that the lamest thing that I had ever heard, but it also made him sound like a little girl---and I decided to tell him so.  
  
//Ryou, that was the---AAHHHH!!!//  
  
I would have continued, but that fucking dog jumped up at my hand that was holding the card and sank his teeth into it. I looked down to see the Man- Eater Bug torn in half and my hand ripped to shreds. That dog was a lot smarter than it looked... I cut off the link. I didn't want to hear his voice at the moment, but mostly I didn't want him to hear my mental sobbing. My hand fucking hurt!!!  
  
"Good dog," said Officer Sherben as he circled me like a vulture.  
  
I growled at the officer. How dare he tell that shit head of a creature that he's being good after taking off half my hand?! Suddenly, my body seized up. That fuck head was taking my Ring! Holy Ra!  
  
~*~ Yaoi Moment~*~  
  
The next thing that fuck head of an officer did was beyond all my beliefs. To take off my Ring, he reached around from behind me and placed his hands on the Eye of Horus part. I thought he was just going to take it but---was he grinding up against me?! I tried to wriggle from his grasp, but he just held me, laughing hysterically. He stuck his head in my hair, and I heard him breathe deeply. Holy Ra! He was *smelling* my hair!!!  
  
He removed his head from my hair and nuzzled the crook of my neck. That was the last straw. I am *not* going to be some gay man's plaything!  
  
~*~End Yaoi Moment~*~  
  
I kicked out behind me as hard as I could and felt it make contact with something. The officer let go of me and fell to the floor. I must've kicked him in the balls, for that was what he was holding while moaning in pain.  
  
Immediately the dog's hackles raised, and he let out a deep, menacing growl.  
  
"Oh. Shit."  
  
The dog jumped at me and clamped its teeth on my arm, ripping it to shreds. My throat gave way to a glass shattering, blood-curdling scream. It shook my whole body, yet, somehow, the dog still held on. More flesh ripped off my arm, and blood splashed to the floor like torrents of rain.  
  
"Good dog," Officer Sherben gasped. The dog let go at its master's voice and panted, my blood dripping from its muzzle.  
  
I fell to the ground in pain and gripped at my tattered arm. The dog had accomplished something: I was groveling at its feet. Fuck. I hate feeling weak.  
  
//Ryou!// I yelled at my hikari, trying not to let him know how much pain I was in. //Get your scrawny little ass in here now and get me out of this hell hole!//  
  
Officer Sherben stumbled to his feet (somehow... o_O) and pulled a small whip from his belt loop. In one swift motion, he had ripped off Bakura's pants (blessedly leaving his boxers upon his slender, masculine form. ^-^) and had brought the whip crashing into the backs of my knees.  
  
I felt blood trickle from the burning sensation in the backs of my leg. The fuck head of an officer ripped my Ring from around my neck and the knives strapped to my back, arms, and legs. Duct tape being ripped from the hair on your legs is *not* the most pleasant feeling in the world...  
  
/Hold on! I'm trying to go as fast as I can./ Ha... That's a laugh...er...it *would* be if I wasn't in so much pain...  
  
//Well, stop trying and get in he---// I felt the whip slice through my legs and a shriek of pain escaped my lips and my mind. //AAAAHHHHH!!! IT BURNS!!!!//  
  
"Don't you dare hurt me---in any form, from kicking to slicing---or I swear I will kill *you*!  
  
What the hell did he mean by that?  
  
/Why don't you just go into you soul room?/  
  
Oh. Crap. Now I have to tell him that the Ring's gone... Shit. What's he going to do?!?!  
  
//Because they confiscated *everything*// Yeah...that's it...blame it on everyone else... Grr... I feel so *weak* lately!!! I hate that feeling! Oh well... Might as well finish what I was saying to him... //I have nothing left!// Yeah...that's kind of true... I still have my boxers on... But besides that, everything really is gone...  
  
I felt the whip slice into me again, this time across my back instead of my legs. Blood dripped from the stinging wound and all the way down my legs, which were beginning to shake with pain.  
  
The slashes of the whip were beginning to come faster now. Just as I had recovered from the pain of one, the next had already sliced open my back, my arms, my legs, or my head. Blood was splashing onto the ground into giant puddles. The dog was still in the room, snarling with foam and flecks of blood surrounding its massive canines.  
  
A particularly vicious slash of the whip cut across the back of my head, making me see red. 'Oh crap,' I thought to myself. 'If he keeps this up, I'm going to go blind.'  
  
/What are you doing here?/ ...Marik? How did his voice get through the mind link? Argh... Ryou's not keeping his thoughts to himself... But...why is *Marik* here?!  
  
The whip came crashing down on my back, but I sidestepped it, not wanting my thoughts interrupted. It smashed onto the floor and cracked the already broken tiles. Whoa... I'm glad *that* didn't hit me... Although, Officer Sherben whished it had...  
  
"Shit! You fuck head!" he swore at me. "Why the fuck did you move?!" He lashed the whip at me and struck me across the face, hitting me in my eye. "Don't avoid your punishment!" He lashed again and hit me on the backs of my knees. And if that wasn't painful enough, I suddenly heard Ryou's voice through the mind link...  
  
/That should be me in there./ It cut off at that, but he had probably said more. I didn't care; the dog was moving, advancing towards me. Shit. I didn't want it to bite me again!  
  
/I asked you a question./ Marik again.  
  
The whip missed me again, but this time it was because of Officer Sherben's rage. His foot lashed out and hit me particularly hard in the leg. I heard the snapping of bone, and looked down to see my shinbone sticking out of the skin. Blood gushed from the wound and formed little puddles at my feet. I don't know how much longer I could continue standing... I was trying to be brave in standing, but I don't think that tactic would work out very much longer...  
  
/I know it was you,/ I heard Marik snarl at Ryou. Knew he did what?  
  
I couldn't think. My mind was swimming in darkness. If I had the Ring I could probably heal quicker, but... Oh shit. That fucking officer had resided back to the whip... He sliced through my skin along my back, and I began rocking back and forth in pain, blood spurting through almost every section of my body.  
  
/I don't have time for this Marik!/ I heard Ryou shout. I almost didn't recognize his voice, I was in such pain. /I have to go!/ ...Go where...?  
  
/No./ Marik's answer confused me so much, I just concentrated on standing and holding consciousness.  
  
That didn't last too long, though. I rocked back and forth so violently that I toppled over, sending torrents of pain through my body... I had landed on my broken leg. The whip crashed through my back again, and I couldn't help but give way to the surge of tears that streamed down my face. I pulled myself feebly into the fetal position and cried harder than I had ever done before. The whip hurtled into my back again, and I slipped into the dark blackness of unconsciousness.  
  
~*~  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And there is the very long chapter six. I hope the length made up for the lack of updates that I've done. I might draw a picture of Bakura's back split open with blood spurting from it just as he falls onto the floor and cries, but, first of all, I don't know if I can scan it and get it to a website, and, second of all, I can't draw. _ If anyone wants to draw it, I would be very grateful... *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* If either of these happens, then I'll put the link in my biography...  
  
Marikay: Please review! 


	7. Traveling Backwards

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Yeah! I'm in a "Yes! Let's kill people!" mood... o_O But that means that you get another chapter! ^__^ This chapter explains stuff! You finally get to be un-confused! ...If that makes any sense at all...  
  
Marikay: So that you can get straight into the story, we're going to thank the reviewers at the end!  
  
Baku: This is Mystical Knight Dragon's less serious chapter---in the beginning...and then it gets a little more morbid as it goes along.  
  
:) (Evil smiley!!! ^-^)  
  
Chapter 7: Traveling Backwards  
  
~*~Yugi's POV~*~  
  
"Yugi?" the voice bored its way into my head. "Yugi! Wake up! You need to get ready for your party!"  
  
'Party...? What party...?'  
  
"Yugi! Don't make me push you off your bed!"  
  
My eyes opened up into slits. My window was open, and a cool breeze was playing across my face. That thought barely registered before I found myself on the floor and rubbing my head in pain.  
  
"I told you that I was going to push you if you didn't get up!" I heard my yami laugh as he threw my regular outfit on top of me. The clothes were so warm that I began to sift back to sleep...  
  
"YUGI!!!! DON'T YOU DARE FALL BACK TO SLEEP!!!!"  
  
My eyes jerked open to see a fuming yami staring down at me. /Gosh, Yami... Don't throw a hissy fit.../ I smiled as I stood up and walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I had completely forgotten about my party today...  
  
//How could you forget that today's your sixteenth birthday?// Yami asked me as he walked into the bathroom, already dressed, to do his hair.  
  
"I have no idea," I yawned, putting toothpaste on my toothbrush. "Yami, what time is it?"  
  
He glanced at the clock out in the hall, gel glooping (R/A/N: ^__^ GLOOP!) from his hair. (R/A/N: You know he has to use at least a bottle or two to make all those spikes stand up...) "About 5:15," he said simply, going back to smoothing out his hair.  
  
I dropped my toothbrush into the sink and stared. "FIVE FIFTEEN?!?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! I COULD BE SLEEPING RIGHT NOW!!!!"  
  
"Like I'm trying to do," Grandpa moaned from his bedroom down the hall.  
  
I blushed. "Sorry!" I called out to him.  
  
"That's alright," he yawned. "I needed a wake-up call anyway." I heard him stand up and shuffle down the stairs to the shop below.  
  
I went back to brushing my teeth, too tired to even bother fixing the toothpaste. /I still think you should have let me sleep in today.../ I got no answer. Yami was concentrating too hard on a particular strand of hair that wouldn't stand up. /It's Saturday...*and* it's my birthday!/  
  
//We have to set up for your party, though, since you refused to do it last night.//  
  
/All of the stores were closed at ten o'clock last night!/  
  
Yami just stood there and put more gel into his hair.  
  
I shook my head and climbed into the shower.  
  
.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,. (...That was kind of entertaining...) .,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,. (Whee!) .,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,. (oO;)  
  
Two and a half hours later, I was eating breakfast and watching Yami's toast slowly burn in the toaster. He's so dumb sometimes... He was still trying to fix his hair... Who was he trying to impress?  
  
//Keep your nose in your own business.//  
  
Argh. I hate it when he reads the thoughts that I'm not even sending to him...  
  
/Hurry up, Yami! Your toast is burning!/ Ha... It's always fun to torture him...  
  
"Damn it!" Yami ran into the room with gel still in his hair (that one little piece wouldn't stay stuck) and grabbed his toast, which burst into flames from the gel that was still on his hands. "Shit!" he swore unexceptionally loud.  
  
"Yami!" I yelled at him. "You know that Grandpa's going to kill me if he hears those words!"  
  
Sure enough, I heard Grandpa thunder into the room. He was already yelling at me before he even got in here...  
  
"Just because you're turning sixteen today," he yelled, "does *not* mean that you can use those types of words in this house!" I tried to shrink further down into my chair as Grandpa continued his lecture. "A group of little girls around eight or ten were just downstairs buying cards and more than likely heard those words! They're going to go home and---"  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Motou," Yami said lazily, running water on his hand, which kept randomly catching fire. "It's my fault, not Yugi's."  
  
Wow... Yami never stood up for me... He always found it amusing to see Grandpa yelling at me for some odd reason...  
  
//Shut up, aibou.//  
  
"Well then... Since you're not my own son, I have no right to yell at you...but please keep those words to a minimum!"  
  
Whoa... That was so unfair... I don't get let off, but Yami does?!  
  
//That's just the way life goes.//  
  
I look over at a smirking yami and am so tempted to throw my unfinished bowl of cereal at him. But then again, I'd probably get in huge trouble for that...  
  
"I'm going to go," I told him and stood up, moving to pour my cereal into the sink.  
  
"Where?" he asked.  
  
"What do you mean, 'where'?" I watched the little circles float down the sink. (R/A/N: Heh... Fruit Loops... It's one of those things that I don't own...) "To the store to buy food! You can't have a party without food!"  
  
Yami looked at me curiously. "Don't you want me to come with you?"  
  
I took one look at his hair and burst into a fit of giggles. Gel still globbed (A/N: Like glob... o_O) in great masses, and he looked as if he hadn't brushed it in weeks.  
  
"Don't you want to fix up your hair a bit first?" I asked.  
  
He frowned slightly and ran his hand along his messy hair. "Alright...go without me. I'll meet you at the store." I moved to grab the money my grandpa had left for my shopping when Yami spoke again. "But bring someone with you. I don't want you out there all by yourself." I rolled my eyes. He sounded like an overprotective mother. But then again, he had a point...  
  
"Fine..." I sighed, trying to think of a friend who would be awake at this hour that I could call.  
  
Tristan...? Nah... I didn't really feel like talking to him right now...  
  
Téa...? No. I didn't feel like talking to her either. She liked Yami too much, and I didn't feel like listening to her ramble on and on about him. [1]  
  
Joey...? I laughed silently to myself. Like hell he'd be up at this hour!  
  
Ryou...? He's a morning person... But then again, I'd wake up his yami... I shuddered as I thought of what he might do to an annoying, ringing phone at seven forty-five in the morning. I'm just glad Yami didn't tell me to go ring his doorbell instead of just calling them. He'd probably gut me on the spot. I shuddered again.  
  
Kaiba...? No. Joey would kill me if I even talked to him. He's probably going to kill me for inviting him. I'm just surprised that he even said he would come... Probably just to taunt Joey or maybe get some free cards out of Grandpa...  
  
Isis...? Huh... Why not? She'd be up to get ready if the museum opens in another hour or so... Hmm... I just hope her brother is up... I wouldn't want to wake *him* up, either.  
  
I reached for the phone and realized that I didn't know her number.  
  
//It's number five on the speed dial.//  
  
/Thanks Yami./ I picked up the phone when it hit me. /Umm...Yami? *Why* is her number on speed dial?/  
  
Yami didn't send anything back.  
  
So I called.  
  
After two rings, the phone picked up. "What?!" Malik's voice snarled into the phone.  
  
"Er...is Isis there?"  
  
"How many times to I have to tell you," Malik practically yelled, "NEVER CALL MY SISTER AGAIN!!!"  
  
I almost stopped breathing. What the hell was he talking about...? "I--- I've never called your sister before in my life!"  
  
"Oh." Malik's voice dropped quite a bit and almost sounded innocent--- almost. "Moshi moshi, [2] Yugi."  
  
"Er...Moshi moshi, Malik..."  
  
"So...I heard you were turning sixteen today..."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You don't seem very happy. Wait. Hold on." Malik's voice sounded far off as he yelled at his yami. "MARIK!!! DON'T TOUCH THAT! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COST?!?! ISIS WILL KICK YOUR SCRAWNY LITTLE ASS IF YOU BREAK THAT!" His voice went back to normal as he spoke to me again. "Heh... Sorry about that... Now...why did you call me, of all people?"  
  
I kicked an imaginary piece of dust on the floor below me. "I was going to the store to buy stuff for my party, but Yami said I had to bring someone. I hate that he doesn't trust me..."  
  
"I can't help you," he stated, "because I have to go somewhere now." My face fell. Shit. I'd never get the stuff I needed before my party started. "But I'll send my yami over. Gods, he's got to get out of this house before he breaks something else. A few minutes ago he broke a pure gold replica of Babi [3] and made Isis so angry I swear she would have strangled him with her own bare hands."  
  
"Er..." I couldn't think of anything to say. I felt like my day was going to go downhill from here---fast.  
  
"So, I'll send him over to your house...now? YAMI!!!! PUT THAT DOWN!!! Or should he come over later?"  
  
"I suppose he should come over now... But...um...could you tell him to leave his rod and any other sharp pointy object at home?"  
  
Malik laughed. "Yeah. I could tell him, but I don't think he'll listen. He's already going to skin me alive since I'm making him go to the store with you."  
  
"Arigato... [4]" I mumbled.  
  
"Sayonara, Yugi!" Then he hung up.  
  
'Shit. This is going to be one hour of pure hell...'  
  
Ten minutes later, the little bell above the shop door rang, announcing that someone had entered.  
  
"Good day to you, sir," Grandpa said in the friendliest voice he could muster. A particularly rowdy group of nine-year-olds had just left, more than likely taking unbought (A/N: Not a real word, but whatever...) cards with them. Grandpa had me come downstairs and help him, but I don't know if I was any help.  
  
I looked up from sweeping and saw that Marik was looking around our shop with a look of awe and annoyance. Either Malik hadn't asked his yami to leave his rod behind or Marik didn't care what his hikari said, but he had the Millennium Rod with him, which made me a little anxious.  
  
"Bye Grandpa," I said cheerfully. "Remind me to kill Yami when I get back!" Although I was being sarcastic, Yami didn't think it was funny.  
  
//Don't joke about things like that, aibou!//  
  
/But you're the one who's making me go to the store with someone like I'm a little five-year-old!/  
  
//I just don't want you to get hurt!//  
  
/Yeah, yeah... Whatever.../  
  
"Er...Marik?" I asked the spirit timidly once we had left the shop. He looked down at me, but didn't say anything. Personally, I didn't want him to. His eyes were too full of anger and hatred at the moment... "Could you walk a couple feet behind me? You're making me nervous..."  
  
Without saying anything, Marik stopped and waited for me to continue walking so that he fell behind. After a while, I looked back; he was following a good ten yards behind me. Not what I had asked, but good enough.  
  
Ryou's house was on the way to the store. Why couldn't I have asked *him* to go with me...? He would have been much more company than Marik. Even Bakura would have been an improvement.  
  
I wasn't paying attention to anything at the moment: probably the reason that I ran into Ryou. "Gomen," I said quickly, realizing who I had bumped in to.  
  
"It's alright," Ryou said quickly.  
  
"Where are you going so early in the morning?" I asked, trying to spark up some conversation. It was so lonely out here with no one to talk to.  
  
"I was just taking a walk to clear my thoughts, and," he smiled, "to get away from Bakura."  
  
I smiled back. "Yeah. Bakura really is a fuck head."  
  
I thought that this might get a smile out of Ryou, but it made him frown a bit. "You know, technically we're the same person..."  
  
Hmm... He's never been touchy on this subject before...  
  
"So?" I don't know what made me say it... Probably my being so tired and confused at the same time.  
  
For a while, Ryou didn't say anything. He just fiddled with something in his pocket.  
  
"What's that?" I asked, trying to be friendly again.  
  
Ryou didn't say anything. He just reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.  
  
"Where'd you get that?" My eyes widened as I stared at it. That thing looked sharp enough to cut through steel!  
  
"Bakura," he stated simply.  
  
"That fuck head! Why would he let you have that?"  
  
He frowned again. "I still don't like you calling my yami a fuck head. He might be one, but that gives you no right to rub it in my face...especially since we're the same person..."  
  
"Well then, what should I call him?! If he gives you knives to play with, then he shouldn't be here on this planet!"  
  
Too late I saw the anger well up in Ryou. He didn't get angry often, but when he did, he just kind of exploded.  
  
He raised the knife above his head, looking almost Bakuraish, and jabbed it right into my throat.  
  
It felt like a million hot needles had jabbed into my skin and had caught fire. I tried to scream against the pain, but the knife had hit my vocal cords and they wouldn't work.  
  
"That's for calling Bakura a fuck head," Ryou sneered.  
  
A blood bubble rose from my throat and into my mouth. Darkness began to swoop around my brain, and the world began to spin.  
  
"And by the way," he whispered into my ear as my life began to fade, "Bakura didn't give me this knife: I took it." He grinned sadistically as the bubble from my throat popped, splattering his face with blood.  
  
The dark completely closed in around me, suffocating me with its horror.  
  
I was dead.  
  
:-O (...It's screaming... It's OK... I don't get it either... oO;)  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And there's chapter seven... Not as much angst and gore in there as I wanted, but it was already becoming quite lengthy...  
  
Marikay: So? Do you really think that anyone cares?!  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: ...Shut up... And now, to thank my reviewers! ^__^ Special thanks to: Kitten (^-^), Fuzzle (Yea! You read it! And liked it! *kind of amazed*), Sk8ErGuRl (I made the officer gay because I was bored... I was sitting next to Bill and I just randomly turned to him and said, "Should I make him gay or not?" He just kind of looked at me funny and just said, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but OK..." So I made him gay! ^__^ Besides, Bakura could turn any man gay... oO;), and Marikzgal4eva (I think I R&R'd your story, but I don't remember... If I didn't, then yell at me in a review or something, and I'll go do that...)! Thanks guys! You're the best!  
  
Baku: Take note of their goodness, and please review!!! *offers coconuts to anyone who reviews*  
  
Marikay: ...That's an odd bribe...  
  
Baku: ...Shut up...  
  
[1] Argh! It was just so tempting to bash her into the ground! Gah! I should've... XP  
  
[2] "Moshi moshi" is "hello" in Japanese, although it is only used when talking on the phone... o_O  
  
[3] A fierce, bloodthirsty baboon god. ^__^ I had to put that in here. Heh... Baboon... ^-^  
  
[4] "Arigato" means "thank you" in Japanese. 


	8. Following the Innocent

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Yeah! Another chapter for you! I have no idea how many are going to be left, but I'm having a lot of fun doing this! Plus, I get to kill someone---again! ...It's the same person, just a different point of view...  
  
Marikay: Only one person reviewed, but that's OK! Because, either my computer is so slow that the reviews haven't loaded yet, or people didn't review. But it doesn't matter... This update came only two days after the previous one...  
  
Indie: Extra special thanks to Bakuras-Hell!!!!!  
  
Baku: *gives reviewer coconuts and pixy stix*  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 8: Following the Innocent  
  
((Indie: Could you come up with a gayer title?  
  
MKD: Shut up...))  
  
~*~Marik's POV~*~  
  
A loud noise jerked me out of a peaceful dream of killing Yami. I moaned. What the hell was happening...? I looked at the clock that said---  
  
"Oh. My. Fucking. Ra."  
  
"Isis!!!" I screamed from the couch (Malik didn't trust me in my soul room at night in case I took over his body and burned something...). "What in the name of Ra are you doing at six o'clock in the morning?! Some people are trying to sleep here!"  
  
Isis walked in the room and glared at me. "*Someone* took a statue of Bat [1] that I needed to turn in to my boss today in order to get my raise! I can't go to work without it!"  
  
I moaned. I wanted to go back to sleep. But the way she was looking at me, I knew I shouldn't even dare... "There were pigeons on the window sill. Bat has horns, so I chucked it at them. It actually speared them...and they tasted pretty good." Isis glared even harder and began to shake. "There's still some left in the fridge... You want some?"  
  
/Three. Two./ Why was he counting...? /One./  
  
((Marikay: BOOM!))  
  
Isis practically exploded. "YOU SPEARED A PIGEON WITH AN EGYPTIAN ARTIFACT?!?!"  
  
"Yeah..." I yawned. "Can I go back to sleep now?"  
  
"THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY I COULD GET MY FUCKING BOSS TO GIVE ME A DAMN RAISE!!! YOU KILLED OUR LAST CHANCE OF MONEY!!! AND I DON'T SEE YOU TRYING TO HELP US RAISE MORE MONEY! PRETTY SOON WE'LL BE BROKE, AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!"  
  
A tapping came from the apartment above ours. "Shut up down there!" our neighbor yelled. "Some people are trying to sleep! And we don't care if you go broke because then you can get those psychos out of here and away from my cats!"  
  
"I still have some of your cat in the freezer!" I yelled back up to her. "Do you want some? It was actually quite good!"  
  
Isis glared at me. "You have five minute to find Bat, or I will literally skin you alive!"  
  
"Fine," I mumbled and fell over off the couch. Malik laughed at me through the mind link, but I ignored him. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep.  
  
I walked outside onto our balcony and looked down. I could just faintly see Bat's head poking through a bush below. I shivered. It was pretty fucking cold out here in my boxers. Ah well... I have to go get Bat...  
  
I walked to the front door and started down the steps. Halfway down, I realized that I could have just taken the elevator. 'Shit. I'm so tired, I can't even think straight...'  
  
After a while, I found myself outside, wondering which one was my apartment. I scanned the rows and thought I saw Isis walking around in the room. I looked down to see if there was a bush, and there wasn't one. 'Fuck! Where the hell is it?! They all look the same!'  
  
I looked around again and saw Isis standing on the balcony, frowning down at me. How had I not seen her before...? I walked over to the bush below the window and shook it as hard as I could. A soft *thump* hit the ground. I looked, and there was a dead pigeon with Bat's foot rammed through its heart. My day felt like it was going to get even better.  
  
I triumphantly brought Bat and the pigeon back to my room, only realizing that I had walked in to the wrong apartment. I quickly ran back out, only to find that I still had to climb three flights of stairs. 'The moment I get back, I'm going straight to sleep.' Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way you plan...  
  
Once getting in to the correct apartment, I shoved Bat at Isis and flopped on the couch to fall back to sleep.  
  
"Get up!"  
  
"No..." I mumbled, and turned around on to my stomach.  
  
"Now!" Isis flipped me off the couch and onto the floor. "First, get this pigeon out of Bat! Then, find its horn in one of those animals in the freezer!"  
  
"I'll do it later," I muttered, about to fall asleep on the floor.  
  
"No. NOW! I have to be at work at eight o'clock---AT THE LATEST! I was supposed to open today, but, since you broke the artifact, I had to call someone else! And what took you so long to get up here?!" She kept ranting and ranting and ranting until I had fallen asleep again. Not a very smart move...  
  
"GET UP!!!" She kicked me as hard as she could with boots the size of...boots... Yeah... That was lame... But I'm too tired to think properly right now...  
  
Anyway, I sat up. I think she broke one of my ribs...  
  
"FIND ITS HORN!"  
  
"Geez, woman," Malik said, walking into the room, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I was trying to sleep."  
  
I threw the pigeon on Bat's leg at him. "Here. Eat this. It's been dead for a while, so I don't know if you'll get salmonella or not."  
  
He caught it and screamed. "This thing is crawling with ants!!!"  
  
"What do you expect?" I asked, stumbling to the fridge and pulling out another pigeon to make my search of the horn. "It's been outside all night."  
  
"That's disgusting," Isis grumbled and went to her room.  
  
Malik dropped the pigeon in the sink in an attempt to wash off the ants, but gave up. "There's no way in hell I'd eat this." He walked over to the balcony and threw it as far as he could. There was a small whimper from a dog. "SORRY MRS. BROWN!!" he yelled. "I'M SURE YOUR DOG WILL BE FINE! IT ONLY GOT HIT WITH A PIGEON!"  
  
"Found it!" I held up a bloody horn triumphantly. "Now I can go back to sleep!"  
  
"I don't think so!" Isis came storming into the room and pointed at the bloody horn. "Wash it," she pointed at the rest of Bat, "and fix it."  
  
"Shit, woman! That's going to take me all day!"  
  
"It had better only take you an hour. It's six forty-five. It had better be done by seven thirty!"  
  
I was so tired, I hardly heard what she said. But Malik did... "Er...Isis?" he asked timidly, not wanting to get killed by his rampaging sister. "That's forty-five minutes..."  
  
"SO?!" I swear that Isis would explode any minute now...  
  
I yawned and reached for the glue in the cabinet.  
  
"It had better be PERFECT!" she screamed before retreating to her room again.  
  
Shit.  
  
Forty minutes and ten glue bottles later, Bat's horn was on its head, and no one could tell that it had ever been broken. I stuck my head on the table and began to fall asleep, only to wake up to a growling stomach. I sat up, grabbed the pigeon on the table, and started to walk towards the sink to fill up a pot of water.  
  
CRUNCH!  
  
Isis ran into the room. "Oh gods! Please don't tell me you broke Bat!"  
  
I looked down underneath my foot and breathed. "I actually didn't break it!" Isis almost smiled. "I broke that gold replica of Babi that you had bought back in Egypt."  
  
Isis began to shake. "YOU WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" (R/A/N: That's almost as fun as ".,.,.,.,.,.,."!)  
  
I calmly walked to the sink and filled a pot of water. "I broke Babi. Bat's fine. She's still on the table and looks as if she's never been broken *or* that she has pigeon guts on her."  
  
I felt Isis's arm slowly circle around my neck and saw her hand slowly reach for the cutlery drawer.  
  
Luckily, right at that moment, the phone rang.  
  
"Get the phone, Malik!" Isis yelled.  
  
"What?!" he snarled into the phone. There was a slight pause, then--- "How many times do I have to tell you---NEVER CALL MY SISTER AGAIN!!!"  
  
Isis curiously walked over to Malik and attempted to jerk the phone from him. That let me run from the room and hide from the evil, rabid Isis.  
  
"Oh. Moshi moshi, Yugi."  
  
Yugi...? Why the hell was he calling...? And why the hell did Isis leave Anubis lying around on the floor...? She knows I despise him, for whenever I prayed to him to kill Pharaoh Yami, he never did anything...  
  
"So...I heard you were turning sixteen today..."  
  
I reached over from where I was sitting on the floor towards Anubis.  
  
"You don't seem very happy," Malik told the phone. Then he looked over and saw what I was doing. "Wait. Hold on. MARIK!!! DON'T TOUCH THAT! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT COST?!?! ISIS WILL KICK YOUR SCRAWNY LITTLE ASS IF YOU BREAK THAT!"  
  
Shit! Why did he have to yell that?!  
  
Isis ran into the room and glared at me, while I just sat there and tried to look innocent.  
  
Malik, thinking that I would be all right under Isis's glare, turned back to the phone. Unfortunately, my Rod was sitting on the floor right next to me, and I used it to control Isis and made her go back to her room.  
  
"Heh... Sorry about that..." Wait... Malik was apologizing?! That was something you didn't see every day... "Now...why did you call me, of all people?" There was a slight pause as I began to reach back for Anubis then he said, "I can't help you because I have to go somewhere." Ha! Yeah Right! "But I'll send my yami over." WHAT?! "Gods, he's got to get out of this house before he breaks something else. A few minutes ago he broke a pure gold replica of Babi and made Isis so angry I swear she would have strangled him with her own bare hands."  
  
Why the hell was he making *me* go anywhere?! I hated it when he just randomly signed me up for stuff! I looked over at Anubis and decided to take my anger out on him.  
  
So, I'll send him over to your house...now?" He looked over at me and saw that I had unsheathed my Rod and had it poised above Anubis. "YAMI!!!! PUT THAT DOWN!!!" I stuck my tongue out at him, but he ignored me and went back to his conversation. "Or should he come over later?"  
  
I abandoned my Rod and just snapped Anubis in half with my hands.  
  
"Yeah. I could tell him, but I don't think he'll listen. He's already going to skin me alive since I'm making him go to the store with you."  
  
Huh? Store? My eyes widened once I realized that I had to go shopping. SHIT!  
  
"Malik!!!" I yelled. "I'm not going anywhere!" Too late. He had hung up the phone.  
  
"I don't care what you say. You're leaving this house without any sharp, pointy objects, and are going to walk Yugi to the store while I go with Isis to the museum."  
  
I laughed. "Do you really think that I'm going anywhere without my Rod? You have got to be joking!"  
  
"That's how I told him you'd respond. Just don't kill him, alright?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. "I'm after *Yami*, not *Yugi*! Even though they *are* the same person..." I fiddled with the Rod and appeared to be deep in thought...but I wasn't thinking at all. I was too tired to think.  
  
Malik glared at me. /You're going to do what I say or I'll take the Rod away from you for three weeks!/  
  
//Fine...but I'm still taking my Rod with me.//  
  
Apparently, this surprised him more than it surprised me. We just stood there staring at each other until I asked when I had to leave.  
  
"Now," was all he said. Then he turned around and went to his room.  
  
I was about to walk outside when I realized that I was still in my boxers. I walked towards Malik's room to get some clothing when my hikari through some at me. //Arigatou.// Then I walked out the door to Yugi's house.  
  
Ten minutes later found me standing outside his house ringing his doorbell. A group of nine-year-olds had just exited the Turtle Game shop, so I had had my fun of glaring at them as they passed. I entered the shop, and was greeted by a very pathetic "Good day to you, sir" by the old man behind the counter. Yugi was sweeping the floor and flinched a little when he saw that I had my Rod with me.  
  
"Bye Grandpa," he said, almost a little too cheerfully for my liking. "Remind me to kill Yami when I get back!" I glared. *I* wanted to kill Yami!  
  
We left the shop and walked a little while before he turned to me and said the strangest thing: "Er...Marik? Could you walk a couple of feet behind me? You're making me nervous..."  
  
I resisted the urge to smile. I scared him, and that was a good thing... I stopped and waited for him to continue. I was ten yards behind him when he looked back. That's not what he had asked, but whatever...  
  
Pretty soon, he had run into someone. "You baka!" I hissed at him, about to walk forward, when I realized who it was: Ryou.  
  
I was too far behind them to hear what they were saying, but that didn't matter. I didn't care, anyway. I wanted to go home and sleep. I leaned up against the building next to me and waited for them to stop talking. Obviously, Ryou couldn't see me or else he'd probably ask Yugi what I was doing there. Then he would go into a shaking fit, which would make his yami come out of the Ring, which would give me someone to talk to. Then we could run around in circles and light random things on fire...or gut my neighbors...or shoot pigeons...or...  
  
I looked up and saw that Ryou had a knife out. "What the hell?" Yugi had said something to him, and he began to shake rather violently. It wasn't good when Ryou was angry. He was like Isis: he just kind of exploded.  
  
If I had been thinking correctly, I might have done something---key word might. I love the sight of blood, and with that knife out, I could feel that blood would be pouring.  
  
I didn't see what Ryou had done, but I did suddenly see some sort of blade stick through the back of Yugi's neck. My eyes widened as the little one fell over. Ryou knelt beside him and whispered something into his ear. A blood bubble from Yugi's throat burst and splattered Ryou's face. He...he.Ryou...kill...HOLY MOTHER FUCKING RA!!!  
  
Suddenly, Ryou went back to the innocent Ryou again. His eyes widened as he realized what he had done. He looked around him and saw that he was standing next to a dumpster. He winced. I remembered Bakura telling me something about Ryou not liking that particular dumpster...  
  
Very carefully, Ryou picked up Yugi's body and placed it on the ground next to the box. He opened up the lid, threw Yugi in, and ran. There was blood on the sidewalk... That would take a lot of explaining to an innocent bystander. I looked around, and saw that the street was deserted. Perhaps, since no one was there, I could clean it up without being suspected... I almost laughed. Fat load of chance that would be.  
  
The door to the building squeaked above me as it opened. A little man waddled out and saw the blood on the sidewalk. He walked over to his hose, turned it on, and washed off the concrete. Huh...that's weird... He's washing *blood* without suspecting anything... Holy shit! What if he saw...? He must have...for he began to wash the dumpster... I'd have to track down Ryou later and get him to confess to Yami what he did or else the Pharaoh would go on a killing spree and probably kill me first...  
  
~*~  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And there's chapter eight for you! I was going to type a lot more, but I'm really tired, and I have some friends coming over in a few minutes.  
  
Marikay: Friends? What friends?!  
  
Baku: O_O You have friends?!  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: ...Shut up...  
  
Indie: Please review! They're very much appreciated! Flames will...be used to burn the smell of death from the dumpster...  
  
Marikay: Anyone who reviews gets...a pen that actually writes!  
  
[1] Bat is the cow goddess of Upper Egypt 


	9. Shocking Reality

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Here's another chapter for you! The chapter title is a bit odd, but that's OK... Or is it...? I'm a bit tired right now, so if I begin to abandon angst and go into randomness humor that no one understands, you are now forewarned...  
  
Marikay: Special thanks to the reviewers! I'd thank them here, but the computer screwed up royally... It says that there are only nineteen reviews when the authoress received twenty-one through the review alert thingy. Being the idiot that she is (MKD: *glare*), she deleted the ones that she had gotten through e-mail and, therefore, lost two reviews. She is exceptionally sorry and hopes that they will turn up soon.  
  
Baku: *gives pens that actually write to the reviewers* Thank you! And I hope Mystical Knight Dragon's idiocy doesn't hinder you from giving any more reviews!  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Chapter 9: Shocking Reality  
  
~*~Yami's POV~*~  
  
An annoying buzzing sound bored its way through my head as I lay upon the comfy bed in my soul room, jerking me from my peaceful slumber. My hand shot from underneath the warm covers and whacked the alarm clock so that it turned off. I looked at the time and saw that it was only four forty-five in the morning.  
  
Now that I was awake, I couldn't fall back to sleep. And then I remembered why I had set the damn alarm clock that Yugi had given me to such an early time: it was my hikari's birthday, and he still hadn't prepared anything. I slipped on some clothes and went out of the puzzle into the real world.  
  
My hikari lay sleeping in his bed like a sleeping angel, and the puzzle lay on the nightstand beside him. Too bad I had to wake him up... I opened up the window. Maybe the sense of insecurity of having an open window would wake him up. Minutes later found that it didn't...so I approached the task at hand with a different strategy.  
  
I gently shook my hikari's shoulder to try to wake him, but to no avail. "Yugi!" I called softly into his ear. Not even a small stir. "Yugi!" I said a bit more sharply. "Wake up! You need to get ready for your party!" Still no movement, and I needed to get my hair done...and take a shower...and brush my teeth...and... "Yugi! Don't make me push you off the bed!"  
  
I thought I saw his eyes open a little, but this was too good a chance to miss. I pushed him onto the floor with all my might. He rubbed his head in pain, which made me laugh. "I told you that I was going to push you if you didn't get up!" I went to his closet, grabbed some clothes, and threw it on top of him.  
  
Then I went to the bathroom to try to tackle my hair. Screw a shower...I had already taken one last night. I got most of the hair gel out, but some of it was still there. Oh well...I was just adding more to it...  
  
I grabbed the bottle of hair get, squeezed some into my hands, and stuck it in my hair. It slopped all over the place, but at least most of it landed in my hair...  
  
Suddenly I realized that I didn't hear any noise coming from Yugi's room. 'Oh shit. He's better not be asleep again...'  
  
Sure enough, when I walked in his room, he was in the exact same position he was in when I had left. "YUGI!!!!" I yelled at him. "DON'T YOU DARE FALL BACK TO SLEEP!!!!" I knew he was already sleeping, but I just had so much fun yelling... His eyes jerked open, and I don't think that your pupils are supposed to dilate that quickly...  
  
/Gosh, Yami... Don't throw a hissy fit.../ He smiled at me when he stood up, implying that it was a joke, but I still felt like a loser who overreacted. I hate that feeling.  
  
I heard him think to himself how amazed he was that he had forgotten his own birthday party. //How could you forget that today's your sixteenth birthday?// I walked into the bathroom to put some more gel in my hair.  
  
"I have no idea," he told me aloud as he let out a very large yawn. "Yami, what time is it?"  
  
Huh. That was a strange and out-of-the-blue question... Ah well... I glanced at the clock out in the hall and studied it for a few seconds. I never have been fond of clocks. I'd rather tell time with the sun. Still, people were making me learn... "About five fifteen," I said calmly before trying to tackle my hair again.  
  
Yugi's toothbrush clanked into the sink splattering toothpaste everywhere. Shit. I'd have to clean that up later. Why was I always the one with the bathroom chores...? "FIFVE FIFTEEN?!?!" Yugi hollered, probably waking up the whole town. "ARE YOU CRAZY?! I COULD BE SLEEPING RIGHT NOW!!!!"  
  
I opened my mouth to say something, but Sugoroku [1] Motou beat me to it: "Like I'm trying to do."  
  
"Sorry!" Yugi yelled back.  
  
"That's alright," Sugoroku yawned. "I needed a wake-up call anyway." Huh...that's the complete opposite of Yugi...  
  
/I still think you should have let me sleep in today.../ I couldn't answer him. All my concentration was focused on applying gel to my hair. One stubborn little piece wouldn't stay in place. Either Yugi didn't notice what I was doing or he didn't care; whichever way, he began talking to me again via link: /It's Saturday...*and* it's my birthday!/ Oh well... Might as well answer him in case he keeps talking...  
  
//We have to set up for your party, though, since you refused to do it last night.//  
  
/All of the stores were closed at ten o'clock last night!/ Ha! That's hardly an excuse! He's had almost a month to work on it! I chose not to tell him that and just went back to tackling my hair while Yugi took his shower.  
  
#_@  
  
At seven forty-five, my hair was still being a royal pain in the ass. I heard Yugi making fun of me by asking who I was trying to impress. //Keep your nose in your own business.// It's almost kind of fun reading his thoughts that he's not purposely sending to him...  
  
/Hurry up, Yami! Your toast is burning!/ Oh, shit! He'd better not be joking! If he is, I'll rip out his aorta and take pleasure watching the blood spray everywhere... Ok, maybe not...but that's not the point I'm trying to make here...  
  
I ran into the kitchen and saw that he wasn't joking. That Ra damned toaster or whatever it's called was smoking where I had placed the piece of bread in it about three minutes before. "Damn it!" I grabbed the piece of toast, which had little flames dancing around on its blackened surface. Apparently, hair gel is flammable, and I just so happened to have quite a bit still left on my hands. "Shit!" I yelled as my hand began to catch fire.  
  
"Yami! You know that Grandpa's going to kill me if he hears those words!" Huh. Yugi's hand must've never caught fire before or else he wouldn't be saying that.  
  
I stuck my hand under some water as Sugoroku came thundering into the room, yelling at Yugi about "bad words" or whatever. I always tune him out if he's not talking to me. Although, I have a feeling he's not going to be quiet for a while, and my head was beginning to pound from the pain of the fire reaching my flesh.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mr. Motou," I said, trying to get one last flame to go out. "It's my fault, not Yugi's."  
  
I heard Yugi think something about me never standing up for him. My patience was wearing thin, but so was my ability to think straight... //Shut up, aibou.//  
  
"Well then..." Sugoroku started. I tuned him out again...  
  
'Whoa,' I heard my hikari think. 'That was so unfair... I don't get let off, but Yami does?!' Huh... I got let off... How nice...  
  
//That's just the way life goes.//  
  
"I'm going to go," he told me, pouring his cereal in the sink.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"What do you mean, 'where'?" Well isn't 'where' kind of an obvious word? It means...where... Huh... I've never really thought about what it means... [2] "To the store to buy food! You can't have a party without food!"  
  
Well, sorry my brain isn't working correctly this morning, especially since it CAUGHT FIRE! Still...Yugi usually doesn't go anywhere without anyone... "Do you want me to come with you?" I asked. With that, he burst into giggles. Huh... Giggle... That's a funny word...  
  
"Don't you want to fix up your hair a bit first?" he asked.  
  
Hair...? Oh yeah! Hair! ...Maybe I'd better get some sleep... I stuck my hand in my hair and found it coated with excess gel. Okay...maybe I did want to fix my hair... "Alright...go without me. I'll meet you there." Yeah right... I was going to go right to sleep. "But bring someone with you. I don't want you out there all by yourself." I didn't mean to say it the way I did, but I meant it. It's a cold, cruel world out there full of pickpockets and thieves...and Yugi's size would make him an obvious target.  
  
"Fine..." he sighed after a while.  
  
I heard him go through friends in his mind. Tristan...Téa...Joey...Ryou...Kaiba...Isis... He stopped there and reached for the phone.  
  
//It's number five on the speed dial.// I told him, going to the bathroom to remove some of the gel from my hair.  
  
/Thanks Yami./ Good. No questions. /Umm...Yami?/ Damn. I spoke too soon. /*Why* is her number on speed dial?/ Heh... Like I'm going to tell him. I cleaned my hair in two seconds, went to Yugi's bedroom, dropped onto his bed, and fell right to sleep.  
  
%_*  
  
"Yami?" a voice called out in my subconscious mind. Ugh... I'm too tired to pay attention right now... "Yami?" the voice called again. I don't want to wake up! I'm too tired! "Yami! Wake up!" Well... There was no avoiding it now... Might as well actually wake up...  
  
My eyes fluttered open to reveal a very freaked out looking Sugoroku. "What's up?" I muttered while trying to wake up a bit more.  
  
"Where's Yugi?" he asked immediately upon realizing I was awake.  
  
"He went to the store with Marik." I let out a particularly large yawn. "Why?"  
  
"When did he leave?" Sugoroku asked, not answering my question.  
  
"Around seven forty-five... Why?"  
  
"Yami... It's eleven o'clock..."  
  
I bolted up in the bed. *Eleven o'clock*?!?! What the hell?! How did it get to be so late?! And then comprehension dawned...  
  
"Where's Yugi?" Sugoroku and I both asked the other at the same time.  
  
I jumped up and was halfway to the door when Sugoroku asked me where I was going. "I'm going to find him!" I answered. *If anything's happened to him, I'll never be able to forgive myself...*  
  
In about half a minute I was outside the Turtle Game Shop and shivering my ass off. Sure leather *looks* warm, but most of the time it isn't...especially when there's not much on you to begin with...  
  
Now to find a lead on where he might be...  
  
//Yugi?// No answer. //Yugi!// Silence. //Shit! Yugi! Answer me! Please!// Damn it! *Why isn't he answering...?*  
  
I ran as fast as I could to the store that I believed he was going to. I saw Tristan, Téa, and Joey walking towards the Game Shop for Yugi's party. They shot me a questioning look, but I ignored them completely. My whole attention was focused on finding my hikari no matter what.  
  
I saw Bakura holding a squirming Ryou up ahead looking at a dumpster. Yugi had always hated that alleyway... Wait a minute... Bakura was *holding* Ryou?! What the hell was going on?!  
  
I walked up to them to see if they could help me find Yugi. Bakura obviously didn't see me, for he backed up right into me. "What's up guys?" I asked as innocently as possible, trying to keep my nerves down.  
  
Ryou looked up at me. His eyes seemed cold and empty and full of fear. He rolled out of Bakura's arms and hit the pavement with a sickening THUMP. Blood squirted from his head, and he ran off down the street without any word of explanation.  
  
I looked at Bakura for an explanation. "Bakura? Are you all right?"  
  
Bakura looked up at me and fear screamed from every inch of his face. He began to back away from me, but stopped when he heard someone yelling from across the street:  
  
"There he is!" a man screeched out. "The one who killed the little one!"  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow at the man, completely forgetting I was there and abandoning all fear. Something seemed to be very wrong. "Pardon?" Bakura asked the man. Yup. Something was definitely wrong...  
  
The man began speaking again: "You killed the little guy! He has a knife in his neck and is placed in that dumpster!" Bakura having a knife was completely normal, but usually he wandered around bragging that he had *killed* someone... Then again, he did look a bit guilty... But still...  
  
'A dead body?' I found myself thinking. I looked over at the alleyway. "In *that* dumpster?!' Curiosity seized me, and I found myself wandering over there to take a look. Bakura was speaking again, but I had no idea what he was saying: I was too intent on knowing what was going on. I had a feeling that what lay in the dumpster was the reason for Ryou and Bakura's strangeness.  
  
The dumpster seemed so far away and yet so close at the same time, and yet I had reached it in only a matter of seconds. The lid creaked open and needed two hands and my full attention to open it. Once that task was completed, I looked over and saw my hikari lying there devoid of any sign of life. What was everyone playing at...? Was this some kind of joke...? If it was, then it wasn't a very good joke.  
  
I tried to find a pulse, but when my fingers brushed against the knife in his neck, I knew that it was true: he was dead. There was no saving him. My eyes filled with tears, but not so much as to not take another glance at the knife shoved through his neck. I recognized it immediately: it was mine, no doubt stolen from my tomb. Bakura...  
  
My tears of sorrow were quickly replaced by tears of fury and hatred. How could anyone do this to my light?! I picked Yugi up and voiced my question aloud to Bakura.  
  
The former tomb robber looked up, fear replaced with what looked like confusion. He seemed as if he was going to contradict it, but the man across the street spoke sooner:  
  
"Don't deny it! I saw you!" If I needed any more proof that Bakura had killed my light, it was that. Part of the wall next to me was crumbling apart. I seized up a brick and smashed it as hard as I could, knocking him out and making blood trickle from the gaping wound.  
  
Somewhere along the way, someone called the policemen or whatever they were called seeing as how I wouldn't: I wouldn't get up from my hikari no matter what.  
  
Bakura regained consciousness at some point... Sorrow was again replaced by rage. He asked me what happened, so I pointed to the brick that had split upon his head and grinned sadistically. Bakura put his hand to his head and realized that he was bleeding. Stupid mother fucking tomb robber... There was another brick sticking out of the wall, so I pulled it out and raised it above my head. "Stay in hell, baka," I shrieked in a voice that was not mine. His hands shot over his head to cover it. Just as I was going to smash it down into his head, one of those policemen came and tapped me on the shoulder.  
  
"What happened here?" he asked.  
  
"This jackass just killed my hikari with a knife that he had stolen from my tomb!" I shouted angrily at him, forgetting that he probably didn't know what a hikari was or what I meant by my tomb.  
  
"But I didn't!" Bakura retorted.  
  
I glowered at him. How dare he say that! I felt my forehead grow hot where the Eye of Horus shone through. Bakura gulped and allowed himself to be led away. Huh... He couldn't have been frightened enough to let *that* happen... I looked over and saw Marik, who slipped back into the shadows. How could he have let this happen? How dare he show his face?! Why?! I then broke down into sobs again, thoroughly soaking Yugi's shirt...  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: And there's chappie eight for you! The next chappie is going to be, again, from Marik's point of view, and then I'll bring it back to the main plot with Ryou's point of view. After that, I'm lost and don't know what's going to happen. Well, I know some things that will happen... *evil grin*  
  
Marikay: She's going to ship Ryou off to the---  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Shut up, you stupid muse! Don't give it away!  
  
Marikay: XP  
  
Baku: ...Pwease review!  
  
Indie: Review and you get a lollypop! Flame and you get to be burned with it! *evil grin*  
  
[1] I like saying "Sugoroku" better than "Solomon" or "Grandpa", which, by the way, are all the same things. Not quite synonyms as much as...meaning the same... oO;  
  
[2] No, seriously... Can you really give a definition to "where"? It's such a relative word... 


	10. Hunting the Guilty

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Lucky you! You get another chapter! One more and we get to go back to the main plot!  
  
Marikay: Plot? What plot?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: -_- *begins strangling Marikay*  
  
Baku: Yea! Happy thanks to the wonderful reviewers! Extra special thanks to Bakuras-hell (Glad someone appreciates my story! ^__^ *glares at Marikay*), Marikzgal4eva, Fuzzle (Muses: *huggle Fuzzle-sama*), and Kyota (I never use MSN messenger, even though I have it. I do have AOL Instant Messenger, though, if you want to IM me on that (Bozonic Caesar). Then again, I'll get on MSN just for you! ^__^ So, yes, I have MSN. (E-mail - Doggpup1121 @ yahoo.com; MSN name - Hyperactive Moosen))!!!!!!! You guys mean so much to Mystical Knight Dragon!!!  
  
Indie: *gives reviewers lollypops* You're the some of the only people that keep her going in life... So...onward to the fic!  
  
Chibi Bakura: This chapter is dedicated especially to Fuzzle-sama, who made corrections and stuff. Thank-you Fuzzle-sama! *holds up a picture of Mystical Knight Dragon bowing*  
  
Disclaimer: *raises eyebrow* How about this: go away! *blasts disclaimer into the Shadow Realm* MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!  
  
* * * *  
  
Chapter 10: Hunting the Guilty  
  
A little man was gingerly cleansing the sidewalk of blood, his short brown hair shining dully in the sun. He had come outside on a whim, only to find the mess, a huge red streak smeared across the pavement, still fresh. 'Some poor little boy must have had an accident on his skateboard,' he thought to himself. 'I always knew those things were made by demons...' There was a dumpster near where he was standing, tucked away into the alleyway. He washed that too, the reason being that it reeked more than usual.  
  
After carefully coiling up his hose, the man walked back into his household to go about the rest of his daily chores. He paused after he shut the door, realizing that it had been open. 'I could have sworn I shut that...' Shrugging it off, he removed his shoes and wandered towards the kitchen.  
  
He never got there, though.  
  
All the lights in his house flickered off just as the blinds on the windows furled shut. A second later, someone or something wound itself around the man's throat, and he was shoved up against the wall, hardly able to breathe. "Wh---what's going on?" he panted, his mind wandering through all of the horrid things that he could think of that might happen.  
  
"You have information of value to me," a harsh voice spoke. The man could not see who the voice belonged to, but he had the feeling that the other was much taller than he---and a good deal stronger, too.  
  
"Wh---what type of information?" the man asked, racking his brain for anything that he might have to save himself from being killed. "I---I work for a bank. You---you must h---have th---the wrong man!"  
  
The voice laughed, sending chills up the man's spine. "This has nothing to do with what you foolish mortals have bestowed upon yourselves as a sorry excuse for a life! The information I'm seeking has to do with what went on earlier today..."  
  
They were underneath one of the many windows of the household, and light was beginning to seep through the blinds, scarcely illuminating his attacker's face. He sorely wished it didn't, though, for every line of his face was etched with a deep hatred, which would make any normal man quiver and shake. This man just so happened to be normal...  
  
"I---I don't know what you mean," the man stated truthfully, looking around for some way to escape. "I---I've been indoors all day. I have a nasty head cold and couldn't go to work."  
  
"You lie!"  
  
The grip upon the man's throat tightened, making him squeak with fear. "N--- no, no, no! I'm serious! I really do have this nasty cold! It's dreadfully contagious! Y---you really shouldn't be---"  
  
"I don't care!" The grip tightened even more, making the man have to take very deep breaths in order to send enough oxygen to his brain in order to keep himself conscious. "You foolish mortals always have things to worry about! None of that concerns me! Did you or did you not see him die?!"  
  
The man froze; his face turned white; his breathing stopped. "S---s---some-- -someone...died?!"  
  
The attacker sighed. "Yes someone died, you fool! Did you see it?"  
  
"N---no! W---when did this happen? W---why? Who did it? Who died?"  
  
Marik smiled, loosening his hand a little. Exactly where he wanted this man. He knew very well that he did not work at a bank---he had read his mind using his Millennium Rod that he was holding with the hand he was not using to try and kill the other with. This man was a reporter for the newspaper. And now he was very interested in what was going on: a very big advantage for Marik. Maybe now he wouldn't *have* to control his mind... 'What am I thinking?' he asked himself, shaking his head. 'What fun would *that* be?'  
  
"You went outside today, did you not?" Maybe now he would cooperate better...  
  
"I---I already told you: I haven't been outside all day!"  
  
Marik's grip tightened again, immediately falling back to suffocation mode. "I told you not to lie! I saw you!"  
  
"Then why are you asking me when you already know the answer?" Not very smart.  
  
The hand resting on the man's throat tightened so harshly that he was able to pick him up without the other falling. The man's hands quickly grasped Marik's wrist to try to weaken the grip, but to no avail. He was slammed into the window with such a force that it shattered, sending shards of glass everywhere. Concentrating very hard, Marik sent the shards of glass to the Shadow Realm. That would give him something to play with later on... Unfortunately, this scared the shit out of the man.  
  
"What the hell are you?" he asked, shaking with fear.  
  
Marik just grinned.  
  
A faint white glow of light gently pulsated throughout the room, though it was not an ordinary light. In fact, it didn't seem like light at all. It emitted from the Eye of Horus that was etched into a golden staff that Marik was holding. Blood curdling laughter filled the room, making even the neighbor's feel the cold seep into their bones. Suddenly, the man dropped to the floor in a sort of bow right at Marik's feet.  
  
"Rise, slave," Marik said after his laughter had subsided.  
  
"Anything, master," the man said, stumbling to his feet with his head still bowed.  
  
"Now, tell me all you know about the blood outside..."  
  
:D  
  
~*~Marik's POV~*~  
  
A long time later, I finally saw Bakura carrying a fighting Ryou. It struck me as odd, but then I realized that they were nearing the dumpster. Bakura's Ring was pointing down the street, although he didn't seem to notice it. He opened up the dumpster lid, and I saw the reason for the Ring's strange actions: Yami was walking steadily closer.  
  
"You're chance is coming up," I muttered through my thoughts to the man I was controlling across the street: the same man whose house I had just broken into only minutes before. He was completely and utterly useless, but just as long as it wasn't me saying "Hey Bakura! Your fucking light just fucking killed Yugi for no apparent reason whatsoever!" Ha! That'd go down real well with him... I'd be hanging by my neck from a building before he realized that it was true. Might as well use some unimportant character that no one cared about... Hell, I don't even know if he has a *name*!  
  
"Yes master," the man muttered through the thought link that connected every mind slave I had to me. Sometimes I despised that link. Right now, I loved it...  
  
"You know what to do, right?" I looked up at him from behind the house that I had stationed myself at. He was across the street pretending to read a newspaper at a local café. He was to look up innocently and shriek that it was Ryou who had killed Yugi. I had shown him a mental picture of him, so he should do alright. Still...I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong...  
  
"Yes master," he said in a voice so strange that it was almost obvious someone was controlling it. I seriously hope that the Pharaoh would be too occupied with other things to notice anything.  
  
"You realize what will happen if you screw this up, don't you?"  
  
"Yes master." I was pleased to hear a slight note of fear in the other man's voice. I had shown him pictures of very violent deaths that I had performed (R/A/N: His daddy! ...Oops... Umm... Spoiler?), all of which had a great deal of blood in them. The man didn't seem to exactly like blood... I could probably let him free of his enslavement, but then again, I couldn't risk that... Besides...what fun would that be?  
  
Yami walked up to Bakura and said something. I couldn't exactly hear what anyone was saying from where I was standing. My mind drifted to the previous time I had stood here, watching a conversation without being able to hear it. Someone died then. Maybe someone will die this time...  
  
/Yami?/ Shit! My hikari!  
  
//What?!// I snarled at him, angry for him breaking my concentration.  
  
/Where are you?/  
  
//What's it matter to you?//  
  
/Yugi's grandpa just came over looking for his grandson. Do you have any idea where he is?/  
  
//I don't have time for this! I have other things I need to do!// I attempted to turn off the link when he spoke again:  
  
/You were the last person to be with Yugi! If you don't know where he is, people are going to start getting suspicious and might think that you killed him or something!/  
  
Ah... My all too naïve hikari... Sometimes I wonder how I got landed with him...and then he does something really fucked up and evil, which washes all my doubts away. I shut off the mind link. I needed full concentration to make sure that my plan wouldn't screw up...and yet, that lurking feeling that something bad was going to happen still lurked in the pit of my stomach.  
  
I snapped back to the present only to realize that Ryou was nowhere in sight. Yami was still there, though...  
  
"There he is!" the man screeched out. "The one who killed the little one!" I looked at him and saw that he was pointing at Bakura. Ha! That's a laugh! Bakura would never ki---OH SHIT! Bakura would never take this, though, unless...  
  
"Pardon?" Bakura asked back to the man. What the fuck?! His hikari couldn't have rubbed off on him *that* much!  
  
"You killed the little guy!" the man kept shouting, drawing the attention of many unnecessary passersby. "He has a knife in his neck and is placed in that dumpster!" Shit... This had to stop! This guy wasn't even under my control anymore! Somehow he had overridden it. I had to kill him...  
  
"How was that, master?" he asked through the mental link. Okay... Usually after your mind has been taken over, you don't want to go back to the one who did it... Maybe I permanently damaged his mind or something...  
  
Bakura was still confused. He opened his mouth to shout something back to the man, when he began yelling again: "Don't deny it! I saw you!" Damn it! What the hell was he doing! But surely...no one would believe him! I mean Bakura---*kill* Yugi?!  
  
'Yeah...' a sarcastic voice said. 'Why would the Tomb Raider kill the Pharaoh's hikari?' Oh. Shit.  
  
I opened my mouth to say something, but it was too late: Yami had gotten a brick and smashed it into Bakura's head. Immediately after, the Ra-damned Pharaoh picked up his hikari's corpse and cried over it, even when those--- policemen, aren't they?---came.  
  
I was staring at all the sorrow and pain before me when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I thought it would be one of those...policemen...but it wasn't: it was that man that made all of this shit happen. How dare he show his face to me?!  
  
"How did I do, Master?" he asked me, his face shining with eagerness.  
  
I couldn't take it anymore. I slammed him into his house and began shouting all of these things at him. I didn't know what I said, but most of it was probably in Egyptian: he looked as if he had no idea what I was saying, either. Finally, I just snapped. I raised my hand, muttered a few more words to him, and then, with a final "Stay in hell, baka", I sent him to the Shadow Realm.  
  
I wandered back where I was as if nothing had happened and watched what was going on some more. I think Yami might have seen me, but if he did, he didn't say anything.  
  
"Yami?" I whipped around to see Malik standing there looking around himself with confusion. "What's going on here?"  
  
I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. I couldn't tell him what had happened. I just did that: it didn't work. "Someone killed Yugi," I stated simply and wouldn't answer any more of his questions. I ran my hand through my hair again. "Come on, Aibou. Let's go." I then pulled him away from the scene and ran him halfway across town before he finally pulled me to a stop.  
  
"Where the hell are you taking me?!" he spat, panting for breath.  
  
I sighed and turned around. There was the jail: my destination. I started walking towards it, wondering if Bakura and/or Ryou had gotten there yet when I saw Ryou walking up. Unfortunately, Malik saw him, too...  
  
"Ryou?" Malik asked, walking up behind Ryou. The white-haired hikari turned around to face my own hikari. "What are you doing here?" I walked up behind Malik and tried to find anything from Ryou's face.  
  
I found nothing, though.  
  
Ryou hesitated before giving his answer. I'm surprised he answered at all... He looked as if he was about to run off without telling anyone anything. "Bailing Bakura," he stated simply and a little too casually.  
  
That was the strangest lie I had ever heard. I began laughing hysterically. They looked at me curiously, so I hastily added, "I knew that baka would screw up someday!" And just to make it seem like I didn't know what was going on, I added, "What did he do this time?"  
  
/Damn it, yami! Can't you be at least a *little* sensitive of other peoples' feelings?!/  
  
Whoa... Where'd *that* come from...?  
  
//No... I'm a psychotic yami that likes killing people... I would have thought you'd have already known that.//  
  
Malik mentally rolled his eyes at me and then hastily changed the subject and asked Ryou if he had heard about Yugi.  
  
Ryou's eyes widened, and his face drained itself of blood. He began to back away from us, which made me unable to resist the temptation of taunting my hikari.  
  
//Damn it, hikari! Can't you be just a *little* sensitive of others' feelings?//  
  
/Shut up, yami./  
  
I mentally laughed at him until he finally broke down and yelled that he was going to go get some coffee.  
  
//You do that...//  
  
I stood around the jail, waiting for something to happen. Finally, I saw Bakura being brought up to the jail by about four of those policemen. He looked unconscious, but one never can be too sure...  
  
'If Bakura's here...where the fuck is Ryou?!'  
  
I didn't get my answer for very many cold minutes. (A/N: I'd calculate it out, but I'm too lazy... I think it's about thirty minutes, though. Ah well...) I waited until about five minutes after he had gone in to walk through the door. Ryou was no where in sight; only some lazy mortal and some blood on the wall...  
  
I turned down a hallway, ignoring the shouts and protests of the man with his feet on the desk. He seemed to be too lazy to move... At the end of the hallway, I finally spotted what I was looking for: a flash of white hair.  
  
I ran up to Ryou and put my hand on his shoulder just as he had touched the door knob of some random door. He whipped around, making some of his hair slash my eye.  
  
'Ra damn it!!!' I screamed. Hearing my pain-filled voice made me even angrier, and I put that anger into the conversation I was about to have with Ryou:  
  
"What are you doing here?!" I snarled, trying to keep back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. Ryou didn't say anything, and the silence unnerved me. "I asked you a question!" I snapped at him. Damn... My eye is on FIRE! Stupid mother fucking hair...  
  
"I have to get Bakura out of here," he said a little too calmly. Clearly, he wanted me to drop the subject, but I would never do something like that. And his hair was waving around a bit more... Can't have that going back into my eye... I slammed him into the wall, trying to get his hair out of my way, but it *still* waved around. I pulled out a knife that had blood on it and stuck it to his head, thinking of the many ways I could cut off that demon hair.  
  
"I know it was you," I said angrily. "I don't think anyone else has guessed it, but I know it was you!" Ra... I'm so close to just ripping out Ryou's fucking head of hair...  
  
"I don't have time for this Marik! I have to go!"  
  
Ha! He wasn't leaving until I said he could! It was his fault that my eye is watering so badly! He should watch where he puts his hair! "No," I said firmly. He tried to push me out of the way, but he was too weak. He raised his fist to hit me, but I just grabbed a hold of it. I never thought that Bakura's hikari would be so weak... "You can't go around killing any more people," I spat out, taking myself by surprise.  
  
He just stood there and stared, those chocolate orbs unblinking, going in and out of focus as his thoughts passed from one to another... It was kind of creepy... And my eye was reaching an almost unbearable point of pain. Ra damn it! Blink!  
  
My fist raised up in the air, trying to bring Ryou back to focus. It pummeled towards his stomach, trying to bring him back, trying to stop before it hit him, but it never stopped. Instead, it hit him with my full weight behind it.  
  
I think Ryou took my punch the wrong way because the next thing I knew his foot had collided with my...er...place that I wish no one would ever hit. I sank to the floor in pain. Maybe I lied about Ryou being so weak... Ra... My balls feel worse than my eye...  
  
Doing the only thing I could think of, I returned to my soul room to see if I had any ice anywhere. I had to crawl over to my fridge (A/N: You *know* he has one!) because I couldn't walk---even if I did take the chance to stand up. Ra... Why did everything have to go so wrong *today*?!  
  
* * * *  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Whoa... That's hard to write while reading other fanfics and listening to music all at the same time... I almost started to stick Harry Potter characters and a half shark-alligator, half man in here... (By the way, I don't own Harry Potter or Half Shark-Alligator, Half Man by Dr. Octagon...)  
  
Marikay: Maybe next time, you'll put the whole of your concentration into this...  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: -_- Maybe next time my parents won't be yelling at me every couple seconds, sending me to go do something else so that our house is "clean" when my relatives come visit... Pleckh... (Don't ask...) I swear my parent's are germaphobic... Ah well... At least they haven't kicked me out yet...  
  
Marikay: Big surprise there...  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: *whacks Marikay with a golf club*  
  
Baku: Er... Please review...  
  
Indie: Mystical Knight Dragon is drawing another picture to go with the ficcie. It's from a bit further down in the story... She still hasn't finished the other drawing that she started since she decided to color it. Now she's regretting that and is going to trace the drawing on to regular paper (she drew it on notebook paper) and re-scan it with the other one when she's done with that.  
  
Baku: ...She made Ryou look like a monkey...  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: ...Shut up... I didn't mean to... 


	11. Adrenaline and Fear

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Yes! We're back to the main plot! Whoo-hoo! But, then again, we don't get to watch Yugi die anymore...  
  
Marikay: Yeah we do...  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Shh! ...Anyways, lots of thanks to the reviewers: Bakuras-Hell (Wow... That makes me feel REALLY special... *sniffle* Thank- you!!!), Fuzzle-sama (*sits on ground and bows* Ha! I have defeated gravity! ...*huggles R.O.M.* ^__^), and Carmen5 (I'm sorry...but I don't think I'll be able to bring Yugi back. I could try... Whoa... PLOT IDEA!!!!!!)!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are awesome! ^__^  
  
Disclaimer: See chapter two. It's got it in lots of different languages... Oh! But I do own the OC (Original Character) that I put into this chapter! I don't know how long he'll stay, so either get used to him or don't - your choice.  
  
Chapter 11 (Haha... That's the name of a book store...): Adrenaline and Fear  
  
~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
  
I don't know how long I stood there before Bakura's torturer noticed me. Although it seemed like hours, it was probably only a minute or so.  
  
"May I help you?" he asked, bringing the whip down one more time as if this was a perfectly normal, every day thing. Bakura let out a wracking sob, and I felt a tear begin to work its way down my cheek. He shouldn't be enduring that pain: I should.  
  
//Ryou!// my yami shouted through the link, the sound of crying echoing throughout my mind. //Where are you?//  
  
"I'm right here," I whispered, struggling to keep my own tears in my eyes instead of on the floor, where most of them had already ended up anyway. "I'm right here, Bakura. And...I...I'm sorry." I turned around so that no one could see me crying, even though it didn't really matter.  
  
"Kid," the torturer asked me again, and I cringed as I heard the whip slash down again. "What do you want?"  
  
I turned around again. "I want Bakura to go free," I whispered, not being able to talk any louder if I tried.  
  
The torturer was caught completely off guard. "I must have heard you wrong," he said, finally letting that horrid whip fall limply at his side. "I thought you told me that you wanted him to go free." He did some big gesture towards the huddled, crying form of Bakura to get his point across...I think...  
  
"You---you heard me right," I stuttered, trying to make my voice a little louder, but accomplished little. Ra, this is all my fault, and I'll kill everyone in sight to get him out of this hell hole!  
  
A picture of Yugi's blank, staring eyes flashed across my mind, and the thought of killing *more* people was quickly driven from my mind.  
  
//Ryou?//  
  
/I'm right here, yami./  
  
//I'm sorry.//  
  
The apology took me completely by surprise. /For what?/ I asked, knowing that *I* was the one who should be apologizing! Then again, sorry will never be enough for the exchange of what I did...  
  
//I'm sorry I made you go near that dumpster. I shouldn't have been so selfish. I knew you didn't like it. I'm sorry.//  
  
/Bakura! It's not your fault! You didn't know! I---/  
  
//He's laughing at you.//  
  
/I---What?/  
  
//He's laughing at you. I'd beat him up, but I don't know if I can stand.//  
  
At that moment, I felt myself jerk back to reality only to see Bakura's torturer laughing hysterically.  
  
"You...you expe...expect *me* to f...free him?!" he asked between fits of laughter. "Y...You have *got* t...to be jo...joking!"  
  
"I'm serious," I stated, louder than before, after he had finally stopped laughing. "I'll trade my life for his."  
  
"What is he?" the torturer asked, starting to get angry. "Your boyfriend or something?"  
  
Now it was my turn to get angry. "No!" I yelled. "He's my ya---brother!" Glad I stopped myself there. If I had said "yami" then I'd be here all day explaining all kinds of stuff about the Pharaoh, reincarnations, Millennium items, and god cards. That could take all day! By then, I would have missed my bus, Yami would have found out that I---holy shit! My bus!  
  
I looked at my watch. For some reason, I still had fifty minutes left... Then I looked at the second hand. It wasn't moving. "Shit!" I yelled and ran from the room.  
  
//RYOU!!!!!//  
  
'Oh shit! Bakura!' I was already at the front desk reading the clock, though. I had ten minutes to somehow save Bakura and get down to the bus station, which was an average fifteen-minute walk away.  
  
"How much is it for me to bail someone out of here?" I wheezed to the man who still had his feet up on the desk. Even though I had only run a short distance, my adrenaline rush was ebbing away rather quickly, making me realize how quick I had run in here.  
  
"Who are you thinking of bailing out?" the officer asked, taking his feet off the desk and turning around to pull a piece of paper out of the filing cabinet.  
  
"Bakura," I said impatiently. I didn't have much time left, and the seconds seemed to be ticking by a little too quickly.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't do that," the officer said, turning back around from the filing cabinet in his swivel chair. He had a stack of papers in his hand, but he didn't seem about to start filling them out.  
  
"And why not?" I huffed. I probably sounded a bit whiny, too, but I was beyond caring about anything except for fixing up the shit I've put everyone through.  
  
"He's on death row. We've decided not to kill him quick and painless, though, so we're going to torture him to death."  
  
I was getting frustrated. "Listen!" I yelled, my voice echoing throughout the room, and slammed my fist down onto his desk, scattering papers all over the place. "There's been some mistake! There's no time to explain! I need to get to the bus station in---" I looked at the clock. "---six minutes! I'm going to get him out of here no matter how much money it takes!" I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down my bank account number and which bank I used. I opened up my wallet and slammed my card down onto the desk. "There's not much money in my account, but I'm sure it will do. When you've got the money, you are to give my card back to Bakura, and he will change my account number for me." I then ran out of the jail and found myself out in open air again.  
  
I took a deep breath of this wonderful Tokyo air and began running as fast as I could towards the bus station, my adrenaline kicking in again.  
  
I somehow made it to the bus station with one minute and forty-two seconds left. I suppose the clock at the police station was fast because there is no way that I made it in less than five minutes. That's when I realized that the bus wouldn't be picking me up here: it would be picking me up right outside the coffee shop that I had bought my ticket from.  
  
"Fuck!" I yelled and turned around, running faster than I ever had in my life, and earning glares from almost every person around me.  
  
The wind was suddenly blowing very hard when I got to the café, and the sky began turning black. I looked up and watched the clouds begin to swirl (A/N: Not all tornado-ish, though!) as the first drops of rain began to fall. Rain was falling right into my eyes, but I couldn't care less. I just kept his eyes open and let them fall, trying hard not to blink.  
  
Five seconds later, a big white bus coated with advertisements (Chocolate Yum-Yums - They're delicious!; Marshmallow Puffities - The NEW cereal!; and Narland's Shampoo - New Peach Smell! were just a few of the ads) pulled right up next to me. I didn't think it would show up that fast, but I sighed and climbed the steps onto the bus anyway.  
  
"Ticket," the conductor asked holding out his hand, "or money?" He pointed to a large metal bucket with a metal lid that had a slit in it.  
  
I reached down into his pocket and pulled out my slightly squashed ticket. The conductor looked down at it and seemed puzzled for a moment, then regained his composure and told me that I could take a seat anywhere that I liked. "You get off in eight stops," he told me, holding up his hands and putting up eight fingers. I noticed that he was missing a pinkie. I nodded my head to show I understood, suddenly losing my voice. "Don't miss it," he continued on, turning around to close the door manually, "or else."  
  
I had a strange temptation to ask "Or else what?" but I didn't. I walked to the back of the bus to find a seat. After a few feet, I turned and just sat without looking around me very much. The seat was rather hard and lumpy; it had been baked by the sun throughout the whole day and was also very hot. I looked around the bus from my seat and only counted six other people, all of whom were up towards the front. Rain dripped through the window two seats in front of me and kept splashing me in my face. I couldn't close it or move until the bus stopped again, and who knew how long that would be.  
  
The first two stops just let people off. At the third stop, the bus stopped, and the driver said he was going to go into a doughnut and coffee shop to get a cup of coffee and use the restroom. He told me and the only other passenger left not to get off and not to let anyone on.  
  
After he left, I stood up and went to close the window only to find someone sleeping in that seat. I leaned over him, trying to get at the window when it hit me: I knew that person!  
  
Panic took over me as the sleeping body rolled over in the seat. I looked up to the front of the bus only to realize that I knew the person up there, too! The chances of meeting two people - who were quite wealthy - that you actually knew on a trashy bus - no one used the company any more ever since one of the busses had flipped over, killing all the passengers and the driver - but here were two people that Ryou knew quite well (or at least as well as they would let him get to know him): the Kaiba brothers.  
  
The figure on the seat stirred, and sapphire eyes opened and met my own chocolate ones. I squeaked out of fear and stumbled back, landing in the seat across from Kaiba. Mokuba looked back behind him, wondering what the noises were.  
  
"Ryou?" he asked, very surprised. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could be asking you the same question," I said in an almost Bakura-ish way.  
  
Kaiba yawned and sat up in his seat, stretching. "We're going to a huge convention somewhere in Hiroshima, although this bus insists on dropping us off at Fukuoka." He yawned again and tried to smooth his hair down. "So then we have to take a fucking cab - sorry Mokuba - to the shore, get in a boat, have it haul us all the way around to the other side of the island, and then we have to get *another* cab to take us to Hiroshima! Honestly, I think it would be so much easier if this guy just dropped us off where we wanted to go in the first place, but he insists on driving us to Fukuoka. Sure glad *I* don't have to pay for this."  
  
I remained silent. Finally I said, "Could you close your window? The rain is blowing on to my seat."  
  
Kaiba looked at me curiously as if he couldn't believe I'd say something that rude. "Geez, Bakura," he joked. "What crawled up your ass and died?"  
  
I put on a fake smile. "Sorry," I lied, "I just get carsick on busses, and it makes me a bit cranky."  
  
"A bit?" Mokuba grinned at me, showing me that his comment was just a joke, but it didn't ebb the pain it caused. I felt horrible - even more horrible than before - after he said that. I went back to my seat, sat down, and closed my eyes, sighing for what felt the fifty thousandth time that day.  
  
Kaiba yawned again and moved to close the window the rest of the way. "Who's that that's standing out in the rain?" he asked, his hands on the buttons that you push to close the window. I looked out the window and saw someone standing outside the café in a brown, buttoned-up trench coat. That's it. He was just standing there looking down at the pavement. At least, I think he was. He had on a large cowboy hat that covered up most of his face, and also collected a lot of water.  
  
I shrugged. "Must be an American from Nevada or Texas or something," I said, trying to sound as if it wasn't a big deal.  
  
Kaiba closed the window the rest of the way (finally) and sat back down. "I guess you're right," he said before he took out his laptop and began typing.  
  
The sound was just about to drive me insane when the thud of footsteps caught my attention. I jerked my head up, just then realizing that I had been staring at the floor, and stared at who had just climbed on the bus. I immediately recognized him as the man who was standing outside the café a few seconds ago, only he didn't have his hat on. Black hair with golden streaks was plastered to his head from the rain, making him look a bit eerie. His skin, which was a deathly white, didn't help to his appearance either. He seemed so thin that I bet if he took off his shirt, you could count each individual rib with no trouble at all.  
  
The man pulled a gun out of one of his pockets and pointed it at Mokuba. "I'm taking over this bus. Nobody move or the kid gets it. That means you, too, kid."  
  
I looked at Kaiba with just my eyes to see him having an internal struggle with himself. It seemed as if he wanted to jump up and save his brother, except for the fact that Mokuba would die if he did that. Tears welled up in my eyes. 'That should be *me* in Mokuba's place - not someone that innocent! I deserve to get shot. To die.'  
  
//Ryou?!// Damn it. Why did Bakura have to bother me *now* of all times?! //To save you from yourself. Now, Ryou: Where the hell are you?!?!//  
  
/I'm safe,/ I assured him. /No harm can come to me right now. Don't worry about me. Just get my bank card from the cops and change my account number whenever you get out of jail./  
  
//That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to thank you for getting me out of that hell hole without even knowing why I was there.// He gave me a curious look through the link. //Or did you know why I was there?//  
  
/Marik told me,/ I lied.  
  
//Yeah... I guess that son of a bitch would know that.//  
  
/Is my bank account safe?/ I decided to ignore Bakura's comment for now...  
  
//Yeah. The cop gave me your bank card just as he stepped in to the room. Told me I was free. But let's not talk about that now. All I want to know is where you are.//  
  
/I'm on a bus./  
  
//What the hell is a bus?!//  
  
I was just about to answer him with some long and detailed description when I felt cold steel press into the back of my head. I jerked back to the present only to find that we were moving with the "Trench Coat Guy" driving. Sweat dripped from my forehead and into my eyes, but I didn't dare blink; the fear of being killed without seeing the attacker on a nearly empty bus was greater than my own personal needs at the moment.  
  
"Make one move," growled a voice in my ear, "and your dead. And don't even *think* about trying to pretend about being passed out again!"  
  
So that's what he thought I was doing. Well, that doesn't explain much. How the hell did he get behind me?! Then I remembered about not seeing how Kaiba was asleep on his seat. Had this guy been crouched down behind me this whole time? Or had he gotten on while I was talking to Bakura?  
  
The sound of Seto Kaiba's voice shook me from my thinking process: "Listen, I *really* need to get to Hiroshima. I'm going to be late for a convention that could very well get my new---"  
  
"SHUT THE FUCK UP BEFORE I BLAST YOUR FUCKING HEAD IN!" the man behind me shouted, practically knocking my eardrum out and making it make that annoying ringing sound.  
  
I slowly moved my head up (realizing, for the second time that day, that I had been looking down at the ground) so that I could see Kaiba. The man behind me didn't seem to mind that much, but pressed the gun a little harder to my head as if to remind me that he was still there. Mokuba was sitting next to Kaiba and looked like he was crying. The elder brother was holding onto him and looking like he was thinking of something comforting he could say to Mokuba - or trying to find a way out of this mess. Hopefully the latter.  
  
//Ryou?//  
  
/Bakura. Can't talk now. Long story. Tell it later./  
  
"I said don't!" the man behind me yelled, pressing the gun even harder into my skull.  
  
"Don't what?" I asked as innocently as possible.  
  
I felt the cold of a steel blade press into the flesh of my neck and a wet drop of blood drip slowly towards my collarbone. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."  
  
I swallowed a small wad of saliva that had been building up in my mouth and felt the knife follow my Adam's apple as it moved. I didn't say anything else. Too bad Bakura isn't here. He'd know what to do...  
  
//Ryou! What the fuck is happening?!//  
  
I didn't answer. I just shut off the link. I needed to put my full concentration into thinking of a plan.  
  
Then, the bus stopped.  
  
"Welcome to Hell," the man in the trench coat said, standing up and turning around to face us. The ugliest sneer I had ever seen was plastered to his face, showing off all of his unearthly-white teeth. He cocked his gun and pointed it right at Mokuba. "One wrong move, and I swear I'll blast him."  
  
I felt the knife release my neck from its hold, but the gun remained firmly in place.  
  
"Everybody off the bus," continued the man up front. He looked Mokuba directly in the eyes. "You think you're scared now, kid, just wait until you meet the others."  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Sorry for the cliffy, but I wanted to get this out. Please review and tell me how I did. Constructive criticism is always welcomed, but flames are always frowned upon.  
  
Marikay: She has so many ideas for this story, but now school's started up again, and updates might slow down. She's typing as fast as she can, though, and is even thinking about writing it *before* she types. Oh the horror.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: *glare at Marikay* And I'm *still* working on my pictures for this story. The moment I'm done, I'll let you guys know. 


	12. Lurching Movements aka The Boat of DOOM!

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long!!!! I had to squash my former plot because it was terrible, and now I've had to start from scratch. Please don't kill me.  
  
Marikay: She has her Faceless (Godsmack) CD all the way up, so her mind's not entirely focused right now. She can hardly spell this little sentence correctly.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Shut up... Anyways, I'd just like to thank my oh-so- wonderful reviewers! Carmen5 (I really am trying to update quickly, but he -- *points at Juan* -- just dumped my sister, so I'm trying to cheer her up in any way possible. The depression's all here, but the time isn't.), Bakuras-Hell (The problem is, I don't know if Bakura's going to *stay* out... *shifty eyes* Actually, he probably is because I wuv him! ^__^ ...Then again, that's usually *why* I torture people...), Maria Christina (Once I catch up on my homework (Darn those advanced classes!) I'll be updating sooner. I hope...), Fuzzle-sama and R.O.M. (Yea! *huggles R.O.M. and eats marshmallows* And I'm trying to stick R.O.M. in here... The only problem is I don't want them to get hurt, which is more than likely what's going to happen... *pout*), DemonSurfer (MKD: *eats chocolate chip cookie and attaches muzzle to Marikay*; Marikay: Mffhhmmhhff!!!; MKD: I'm sorry... Did you say something? *evil grin* MUAHAHA!!!!), and Lightening Sage (Honestly, I can't answer you questions even if I didn't mind letting everyone know what's going to happen. My plot has changed so much throughout the course of this story that I don't know *what's* happening anymore... -_-')!!!!!!!! You guys are awesome!!!!  
  
Marikay: Her CD is scaring me. On the song "Releasing the Demons", it says "What do you see when you're in the dark, and the demons come for you?", and MKD keeps laughing every time she hears it...  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: What? I like demons! Anyways, presenting:  
  
Chapter 12: Lurching Movements a.k.a. The Boat of DOOM!  
  
~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Kaiba yelled. I looked over at him, only to see his eyes filled with tears. It took all of my will power not to look over at Mokuba, who was sitting on the cement ground, crying harder than I had ever seen anyone cry in my life. A man with big bulging muscles and dark, brown hair jerked him to his feet seemingly ripping the arm from the poor boy's socket.  
  
I looked around once more to see if there was any way to escape. There wasn't. Men were surrounding us on all sides. Like there would be anyway. There never is, and there probably never will be. Even if I did find a way to escape, how the hell am I supposed to inform the Kaiba brothers of my plan without anyone else knowing what I'm doing? Might as well just shout out, "Hey Kaiba! On the count of three, let's punch that guy's lights out that's on our left and run away from these creeps!" Yeah, that'll go over real well.  
  
//Ryou! Where are you? I'm coming to get you!//  
  
I sighed. He never gave up, did he? /I told you I can't talk right now,/ I said quickly. /I'll tell you later./  
  
I felt cold steel once more press into the back of my head. "I hope you know that this whole fainting trick is getting old," said an all too familiar voice in my ear. "Next time you pull that trick, I swear I'll cut your throat..."  
  
"Just cut it now, and our worries will be over," said a man who was walking in front of Ryou. "He's worthless to us, anyway. We can at least hold the Kaiba's for ransom or something..."  
  
"Yeah," said another man, shoving Kaiba in the back to make him walk faster. "What *is* the point of keeping the albino, Danny [1]?"  
  
The man I suppose was Danny stopped and glared at everyone else. "*We* might not need him," Danny sneered, "but we might get a raise for turning him in to the boss."  
  
The man behind me snorted. "It won't be a very big one!"  
  
"Just you wait," glared Danny. "One of these days all our problems will be over. Then we can get out of this hell hole of a country that we've landed ourselves in."  
  
I took another look around me, reminding myself once more that this could be the last look at anything that I would get in a long time. Buildings lined both sides of the small, but busy, dirt road that we were walking on. Merchants were trying to sell random objects that they had found over the course of the week to the passersby. More than once, I saw someone steal something from someone else and try to sell it back to them at a higher price than it could ever be worth.  
  
"I still don't understand this," said the man behind me. "If we don't really need this guy except for for a few extra bucks, why don't we just ditch him? He doesn't even know anything!"  
  
"He knows what we look like," Danny snapped. "And if you want to keep your head, I suggest that you just shut up."  
  
Silence fell over the group, and not another word was spoken until they reached a dock bustling with people going to and from the large ships that lined the body of water they were looking at.  
  
A short little man wearing hardly anymore than rags rushed up to Danny. "Ohayou gozaimasu!" he said a little too happily in a high, squeaky voice. "Welcome to the East China Sea, Danny-sama! Do you need a boat, Danny-sama? Where are you going, Danny-sama? Danny-sama, do you--"  
  
"That's enough, Haidoushi!" Danny yelled, his voice echoing above the roar of the crowds.  
  
Haidoushi bowed his head. "Gomennasai, Danny-sama! Have I angered you?"  
  
Danny rubbed at his temples. "Not angered, Haidoushi. Just annoyed the crap out of me."  
  
Haidoushi bowed again. "That's what I do best, Danny-sama... Your boat is ready to sail. Third one on the left." He waved his hand in the general direction of the boats already lined up along the dock. "Ja ne, Danny- sama!"  
  
Danny rolled his eyes and walked towards the boat. Even thought the boat was quite large, it was still dwarfed by the others that were towering over it. It looked to be wooden, but it was probably metal. I looked over and saw that Kaiba's hands were twitching. After knowing him for so long, I could only guess that he wanted to rip it to shreds. Kinda creepy if you think about it for a while...  
  
The guy behind me slammed something into the side of my head. I could feel the blood welling up and sliding down the side of my face as the darkness began to consume me.  
  
'Ryou...' a voice whispered around me. 'Ryou...'  
  
I clawed around the darkness for a while, trying to find a way out. My yami was calling me. He would be pissed if I didn't answer.  
  
'Ryou!' it said, a bit sharper this time.  
  
I continued clawing. Then it hit me: That wasn't my yami's voice. It was Kaiba's...  
  
My eyes shot open, and pain welled up at a big gash in my head. I moaned against the pain only to have Kaiba's hand placed over my mouth.  
  
"Hush, Ryou!" he hissed. "You don't want those guys coming back down here!"  
  
I blinked and looked around me without getting up for fear of my head splitting in two. I was lying on some sort of wooden floor; barrels were stacked in corners and rolling around; and the air seemed to be filled with the stench of foul wine mixed with rotting fish. "Where are we?" I asked him as loud as I dared. Right at that moment, the floor lurched and my memories came racing back.  
  
"We're on that fucking boat." Kaiba looked over at Mokuba, who had just sat up. "Sorry, Mokuba."  
  
"It's okay, nii-sama," he said softly. He stood up to brush himself off, but just then, the boat lurched again, knocking him back to the floor. He fell only mere inches away from a huge pile of barrels.  
  
"Careful, Mokuba," said Kaiba in a lot softer tone that he uses with anyone else. He walked over to his little brother and helped him over to where I was lying.  
  
"Nii-sama," Mokuba whispered. I don't think he thought I could hear him, but I could. Crystal clear. "What happened to his head?"  
  
I knew exactly what he was talking about. I could feel the blood pouring out and soaking my hair. I knew I was a mess, and all I wanted to do was to take a shower.  
  
Fuck fate.  
  
It hates me.  
  
No, that was an understatement.  
  
Fate *despises* me.  
  
Absolutely loathes me.  
  
Danny walked down a set of wooden steps that were a faded red and over to us. "Having fun?" he sneered.  
  
I just lied there and stared at the ceiling. I could see Kaiba out of the corner of my eye, and he looked like he so desperately wanted to punch Danny as hard as he could until they could no longer breathe.  
  
I heard a snicker off to my right and realized Danny had walked over there while I was watching Kaiba. "You guys had better get used to this," he continued to sneer. "I will, however, allow you to get a breath or two of fresh air from above if you want. Just don't think about escaping. We're literally out in the middle of nowhere. And no jumps overboard, either. We can't risk losing Kaiba. He's worth too much." He grinned a terrible grin and began walking up the stairs.  
  
Kaiba sat down on the ground with a sigh. He looked over at me and tried to read my expression. Too bad there was nothing on it. "What are we going to do now?" he asked me, although seemingly to himself.  
  
It was my turn to sigh. I didn't speak for a few minutes after that. I wanted to contact Bakura, but he had no doubt found out that I was a murderer and wouldn't want to speak to me. Damn.  
  
I wanted to stand up. Nothing could be done with me not moving at all. Surprisingly, I was able to stand quite easily. The boat gave a tremendous lurch, however, and almost knocked me down again. I turned to the stairs and began to walk upwards.  
  
"Where are you going?" Kaiba asked.  
  
I looked at him in the eyes. "Honestly, I have no idea."  
  
There was a door at the top of the stairs, and I was able to swing it open with surprising ease. The wind was cold and harsh and bit fiercely at my face.  
  
The ocean can't be too much colder.  
  
Just a bit saltier.  
  
I walked over to the railing and looked out at the sea. I couldn't help but think of how fucked up my life had become. The waves looked so threatening, as if *daring* me to jump and allow them to feast upon my soul. I looked behind me. No one was paying attention to me. They were watching Kaiba, whom I suppose had followed me up here. He shouldn't have. He wouldn't want to watch me die.  
  
Kaiba looked over at me, and I almost laughed at how his eyes grew large. "What the hell are you doing, Ryou?!" he shouted at me.  
  
"Tell Bakura I said goodbye. And tell Yami that...that I'm sorry." With that, I turned around and jumped off the side of the ship.  
  
* * *  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Sorry for the cliffhanger. I just wanted to get this chapter out. Anyways, at the end of chapter three, I said that this was not going to become a suicidal fic. I've begun to have second thoughts about this and was wondering if anyone would mind if I did turn it into a suicidal fic. Please tell me if you do or don't, so that I'll be able to change my ideas according to what people are and aren't comfortable with. I'm personally anti-suicide, but I drew a picture of Ryou that fits in with this plot line, and I kind of wanted to stick it up on mediaminer once I get an account or somewhere else. Who knows?  
  
Marikay: Please review. And again, we're all desperately sorry about the cliffhanger and the late update.  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: It was supposed to be longer, but *someone* -- *points angrily at muses* -- wanted to go on vacation from my head for a little while and came back a little rusty with their writing skills.  
  
Muses: *grin sheepishly*  
  
[1] Danny is pronounced with the "a" sounding like "ah". Dah-nee. Danny. Not Dan-ee. Dah-nee. ...Do you get it or was that really confusing? 


	13. Freedom

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Whee! I'm starting this in the middle of typing chapter 12! ^__^ Anyways... I finished this the same day I finished chapter 12, so I obviously didn't get any reviews.  
  
****NOTE --- PLEASE READ!!!!!!! I updated this chapter the same day I uploaded the previous chapter. Make sure you've read the previous chapter and didn't skip it!!!  
  
Disclaimer: *yawn* Lack of sleep is never good. Yeah. I don't own this, but I own your mind!!! MUAHAHAHA!!!!!! *runs off screaming*  
  
Chapter 13: Freedom  
  
~*~Bakura's POV~*~  
  
A voice tried to work its way into my brain, but it wouldn't decode properly. I could feel the blood sliding down my back in sheets. Pain was scorching through my body, and it seemed to double each time that fucking whip crashed into me again.  
  
Where the *hell* was my hikari?!  
  
//Ryou!// I shouted through the link. I tried to keep my sobs away, but I don't think it was working too well. //Where are you?//  
  
I heard something behind me, and Ryou's voice echoed through my mind. I couldn't understand a word of it, though. My mind seemed to be flipping back to ancient Egyptian. Ra, where the hell was he?!?!  
  
I felt the whip slice through my skin again. A few more words shot through the air. I expected to feel the whip again, but it never came.  
  
//Ryou?// I sent again. I wanted him here with me. I don't know why; I just did. It just seemed right.  
  
/I'm right here, yami./ ...Well that was pretty new. Was he there the whole time...? Ra, I hope not. I don't want him to see me cry.  
  
I took a deep breath, trying to ebb away the pain. You'd think that now that the whip wasn't upon me that the pain would begin to vanish. Unfortunately, that information is incorrect. It was as if thousands of white-hot needles were pressing deep into every centimeter of my skin.  
  
//I'm sorry.//  
  
/For what?/  
  
Hmm... I wonder... Do the words "me-forcing-you-to-go-near-a-dead-body" ring a bell?  
  
//I'm sorry I made you go near that dumpster. I shouldn't have been so selfish. I knew you didn't like it. I'm sorry.//  
  
/Bakura! It's not your fault! You didn't know! I---/  
  
Just then, laughter sliced through the air. Immediately, I knew who was laughing and at whom.  
  
//He's laughing at you.//  
  
/I---What?/  
  
Hmm... Could I have made it any plainer...?  
  
//He's laughing at you.// I repeated that a bit slowly, and I hope I didn't offend him. He can have a nasty temper sometimes... //I'd beat him up, but I don't know if I can stand.//  
  
I felt the link break, and I was back to only hearing things in Egyptian. For some reason, just talking to my other half for that short amount of time made me feel loads better. It's funny how things can work out that way...  
  
I heard footsteps. R-Ryou was leaving?! But why?!?!  
  
//RYOU!!!!!// I shouted after him. No answer. Either he was ignoring me, or something terrible happened. I seriously hoped it was the former, although I'd still be seriously pissed if it was...  
  
The whip was going back to slicing me to pieces. If I didn't know better, I would think that they were trying to kill me... Too bad it takes a lot more than whips to kill a spirit of a Millennium Item.  
  
I might not die, but I could still feel pain.  
  
Tons of it.  
  
After my back had had that break, it was burning even more now that it was being tortured again. What the hell was going on?!  
  
And then my hearing was increased. I could hear everything, including English. I heard the blood squelch from my back as the whip sliced through it again. I heard footsteps cantering down the hall and into the room.  
  
It's too late.  
  
You can't save me.  
  
I'm broken.  
  
He's gone.  
  
You can't save me.  
  
I felt the whip slash through the air again. I braced myself, but I knew I could do nothing to stop the pain that was to launch itself upon me.  
  
"Stop!!!" a voice yelled. The whip slashed through me, but stopped after that one. Another wrenching sob wracked through my body. Tears slipped down my face and fell to the ground, joining the others that had been there for awhile. "Bakura's free! Some kid just gave us his bank account number and card for bail money!"  
  
The man holding the whip seemed furious. "Why should I care about some fucking bank number? Just take the money, and let me get on with killing this worthless piece of shit!" That did it. No one calls me a worthless piece of shit and walks away with their mind intact. I tried to stand up, but couldn't even manage a wiggle. I was just too exhausted. My eyes slid shut, and I went into a half-doze.  
  
When I opened them back up, I saw Marik's face looming over mine.  
  
"The baka's awake," he said to his hikari, who was standing on the other side of me.  
  
"Where am I...?" I asked sleepily. My back still felt like it was on fire, but it wasn't as bad as before.  
  
"You're at my house," said Malik, bringing me a glass of water. I didn't take it, though. Other matters were more important at the moment.  
  
"Where's Ryou?"  
  
Malik and Marik exchanged glances. "Last I remember," said Marik slowly, "was that he was with you. In that jail place or whatever it's called."  
  
"The police called us and told us that someone had bailed you out," explained Malik. "They told us to give you this" --- he handed me my hikari's bank card --- "and give it back to Ryou."  
  
I closed my eyes again. I needed to contact my hikari. Today was just getting too much for me to handle. All I wanted to do was to go take a nap on the soft bed awaiting me inside the Ring. Oh, shit! The Ring!  
  
"They gave us your stuff back, too," continued Malik. He pointed to a cardboard box next to me. I took a deep breath and tried to contact my hikari again.  
  
'That should be *me* in Mokuba's place - not someone that innocent! I deserve to get shot. To die.'  
  
I had no idea what was going on, but that didn't sound too good. What the hell was Ryou talking about...? //Ryou?!//  
  
'Damn it. Why does he have to bother me *now* of all times?'  
  
Oh, so now I'm a bother...? I'll show him!  
  
//To save you from yourself. Now, Ryou: Where the hell are you?!?!//  
  
/I'm safe./ Wow. That's reassuring. He just had about the most suicidal thought I ever heard him think of, and now he's saying he's safe. Yeah right. /No harm can come to me right now./ But where *are* you?!?! /Don't worry about me. Just get my bank card from the cops and change my account number whenever you get out of jail./  
  
Well, that'll be easy. I'm already out of jail and have the bank card in my hands. //That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to thank you for getting me out of that hell hole without even knowing why I was there.// Wait a minute... If he didn't know why I was there, then... I'm confused. //Or did you know why I was there?//  
  
/Marik told me./  
  
I'd yell at him later. //Yeah... I guess that son of a bitch would know that.//  
  
/Is my bank account safe?/ I could tell he was pointedly avoiding my question. Usually it meant that he wasn't telling the truth, but I was too exhausted to stretch that point now.  
  
//Yeah. The cop gave me your bank card just as he stepped in to the room.// Fighting lies with lies. A snippet of a song popped in my head: "And no one knows..." I heard that song only once, and it's been haunting me ever since. Stupid modern day technology... //Told me I was free. But let's not talk about that now. All I want to know is where you are.//  
  
/I'm on a bus./  
  
Wow. That's helpful.  
  
//What the hell is a bus?!//  
  
Silence.  
  
The song began to circle over and over in my head, driving me insane. Why wasn't Ryou answering?! He couldn't have forgotten that I was there, could he...?  
  
//Ryou?//  
  
/Bakura. Can't talk now. Long story. Tell it later./  
  
Well, that does it. I'm thoroughly confused now. I have no idea what's going on. And I want some answers - NOW!  
  
//Ryou! What the fuck is happening?!// He can't ignore me now that I'm pissed.  
  
The link shut off.  
  
Oh, he's going to be one sorry son of a bitch when I see him again...  
  
"What's going on?" Malik asked eagerly. "Did you contact Ryou?"  
  
"Yeah, I contacted him." I sighed. This was turning out to be one long day... "He wouldn't tell me where he was, though."  
  
"We'll help you find him," said Marik quietly. I looked up at him, and he looked away.  
  
"Thanks," I said just as quietly. I decided to try contacting him one more time.  
  
//Ryou! Where are you? I'm coming to get you!//  
  
/I told you I can't talk right now. I'll tell you later./  
  
That was it. I had to find him.  
  
I opened my eyes only to find Malik and Marik staring down at me.  
  
"I have to find him," I told them. "I think something's happened."  
  
"I'll call the police for some help." Malik got up and was halfway to the phone when what he said sank in.  
  
"Don't call them!" I hissed. "Think about where I just was!"  
  
"Not the local police," Malik said. He tried to sound reassuring, but I wasn't in the least bit calmed. "It'll be all right. Really. Do you want to find your hikari or not?"  
  
I dropped my gaze. He was right. We would probably need all the help we could get.  
  
I felt something touch my shoulder and looked over to see Marik's hand there. "We'll find him," he said softly. "I know we will."  
  
* * *  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: How's that for a sappy chapter? *rolls eyes* Anyways, please review. 


	14. A Twist of Fate

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Gah! How have I not updated in so long?!?! I feel TERRIBLE now! u_u Anyways, I want to thank my reviewers: Sk8tErGuRl2 (I know it's probably a bit late to tell you this, but oh well: The Faceless CD is awesome! Godsmack is definitely one of the best bands out there! \m/), Carmen5-Nemrac (...But...you...had...updated...earlier... o_O ...I'm thoroughly confused, but that's only because FF.Net hates me... ^_^'), Lightning Sage (...I suppose cliffhangers aren't as fun as I make them... *smacks own hand* Bad llama! ...I love that movie....and now I want to go see it again... o_O), Demon-Heart1 (I suppose you don't see them being nice very often... Muahahaha!!!! In your face, muses!! (Muses: ...)), Fuzzle- sama (I'll try my best to stick R.O.M. in this chappie......wait! Idea! Idea! Yea! R.O.M.: I found a way for you to be in the ficcie! Yea! ^_^), and Dark-Autumn (You might be weird, but I think I surpass all in weirdness... ^__^')!!!!!!!!!!!! Arigatou!!!  
  
Marikay: *cough*slacker!*cough*  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Hey! No comments from you! You abandoned me!  
  
Marikay: Hey! I had to go to the bathroom!  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: That's no excuse!!!  
  
Marikay: *_*  
  
* * *  
  
Chapter 14: A Twist of Fate  
  
~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
  
The ocean was even colder than I thought.  
  
Okay, think freezing.  
  
Then divide that temperature by...a lot.  
  
That's how cold it felt. It probably has something to do with the rains that have been here for the past few weeks...  
  
My mind began to numb from the cold. Once I was watching this show and this kid fell into a river and got hypothermia. He had gotten lost, but then a dog came and saved him. I might get the hypothermia, but I sure as hell don't think I'm going to get saved.  
  
I sure as hell hope that I don't, either...  
  
I should die.  
  
I deserve to die.  
  
But fate must hate me.  
  
It's being rather cruel today.  
  
After I had floated there in the water for a minute or two, I felt myself being pulled out of the water. Damn you, Fate! I've already killed one person! I'll kill you, too! And there I go thinking about poor Yugi-kun again... Gods, how I miss him... I wish there was some way to bring him back...  
  
-*-  
  
~*~Yami's POV~*~  
  
I sat on Yugi's bed. He had been gone for only about half an hour, but it felt like eternity. I always thought that when you were sad, you would cry. That's how it was when my actual birth mother passed away when I was five. However, this is somehow...different... Yugi's a part of me...was. I'll never get used to saying that. I don't *want* to get used to saying that.  
  
I leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Something didn't seem right...  
  
*Yugi's a part of me...*  
  
I sat straight up in the bed. "Oh. My. Ra."  
  
I heard Sugoroku coming up the stairs. I had to get out, and I didn't want to pass him. I looked over at the window. It was a straight drop two stories down into a grungy alleyway, but it was the only choice that I had. I jumped up, ran to the window, threw it open, and jumped out. I hit the ground and began to run. Then I remembered something: the Puzzle. I went into my Soul Room and then came back out to find myself in a closet of some sort...  
  
-*-  
  
~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
  
Anyways, back to me being pulled out of the water.  
  
You'd think that once you were out of the cold water that the only way to go is warmer. That theory has now been proved wrong. The minute my skin had touched one particle of air, I immediately wished that I could just stay under the water.  
  
I was pulled into a tiny wooden fishing boat. The boat that I had previously been on was still looming over me, but it was slowly fading away and out of sight. I could see Kaiba being pulled away from the railings by two men, for he was struggling, it seemed, to get to me.  
  
Exhaustion swept over me, and the minute that I had touched the floor of the boat, I fell asleep.  
  
-*-  
  
~*~Kaiba's POV~*~  
  
I watched as Ryou dove off the boat, dumbstruck by his words as well as his actions. It was surely suicide, but he couldn't be *that* desperate. I mean, you don't see *me* trying to kill myself.  
  
*Tell Bakura I said goodbye. And tell Yami that...that I'm sorry.*  
  
It made no sense. What could Ryou have done to make him so frustrated that he would jump off of a boat but still have a few words to say to Yami...? I ran to the edge of the boat and looked out on to the water. The sea was still foaming where Ryou had jumped as if daring me to dive in as well.  
  
I felt someone grab my shoulder. I whipped around and saw a sailor holding me back.  
  
"You do the same thing, kid, and I swear on my dead mother's grave that I'll make sure you don't come back up!" he sneered.  
  
"Get off of me!" I snarled back.  
  
Someone else grabbed my other shoulder, and, with the help of the other sailor, dragged me back away from the railing.  
  
"Get off of me!" I repeated.  
  
"Nii-sama!" I heard Mokuba shriek. I whipped around and saw Mokuba being held by two other thugs as well.  
  
"Mokuba!"  
  
"Nii-sama! Help me!"  
  
I broke away from the two holding me and ran over to Mokuba. "Get your hands off of my little brother!" I pull my fist back and am about to punch the two holding my brother when they comply.  
  
"Next time you pull shit like this," the larger one growled, "your brother won't be so lucky. One toe out of line and you get to watch him die a slow and painful death."  
  
"Don't use that type of language around my brother!" I snap, putting a protective arm around Mokuba's shoulders. "Come on, Mokuba." I then lead him back underneath the deck. Who knows what card Fate will play next, but I want to make sure I'm ready when the time comes.  
  
*You can't compare Life to a card game, Seto.*  
  
I stop halfway down the steps. I knew that voice; I knew those words.  
  
An image of the Pharaoh flashed before my eyes.  
  
*Fate is even trickier than any monster, stronger than any stone. You can't defeat it; You can't get away from it. Fate controls your life. Live with that.*  
  
*I won't, Pharaoh! I won't let anything control my life, especially not you!*  
  
I shook my head, trying to get my own words to stop echoing around my head. "It's all from the past," I mutter and continue down the stairs, pointedly avoiding Mokuba's curious glances.  
  
-*-  
  
~*~Normal POV~*~  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!"  
  
Officer Fushidara (A/N: Do you remember him from chapter 6? ...I didn't either... o_O') looked down at the floor. "I just thought---"  
  
"No! That's the problem! You *weren't* thinking!"  
  
"Well what do you want me to do, Hikaru?!" Fushidara yelled, his temper waning. "He gave us the money that we needed to capture Kaiba, and we succeeded! We caught the kid, too! Now there's no one to stop us! Not even Bakura, or whoever that was. No one would believe what a murderer says!"  
  
"You fool!" Hikaru snapped. "Bakura could take us out in the blink of an eye now that he's free! And he'll do it, too! He'll stop at nothing to get what he wants! Trust me; I know..."  
  
"Well...?"  
  
"'Well' what?  
  
"What do you want me to do about him?"  
  
Hikaru grinned maliciously from underneath his cloak. "Finish what you had started and kill him."  
  
-*-  
  
"I did it," said Malik happily, plopping down on the couch next to Bakura who was drinking a strong cup of tea.  
  
"Did what?" Bakura snapped.  
  
"I called them."  
  
"Called *who*?" Marik urged.  
  
"The police. And then I threatened them enough until they decided to cooperate and help us!"  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "If they decide to hurt me again, this is going on your name---and I'll inflict twice as much pain on you as they had on me."  
  
Malik winced but quickly hid his fear. "It's all right, Bakura! These are different policemen!"  
  
"They're all the same to me." Bakura took another gulp of tea. "Ra, how much sugar is in this stuff?!"  
  
Marik grinned. "Let's just say that we'll need to go and buy some more pretty soon, before Isis decides that she wants to bake a cake or something."  
  
Malik's eyes widened. "That was a five pound bag of sugar!" (A/N: Yes, I know that they don't use pounds in Japan, but I'm too lazy to convert stuff right now... O)  
  
"I was wondering what those markings on the bag said..."  
  
Bakura slowly pushed his tea cup away from him.  
  
"Anyways," Malik continued, "they're going to help us find Ryou. They have about twenty men out looking for him.  
  
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"  
  
"Well, they still need some people to protect Japan, don't they?"  
  
"Tell me," said Bakura lightly, "which do you think comes first right now: my hikari or everyone else?"  
  
Malik raised an eyebrow. "Too bad you don't control the world. Everyone else thinks that they're the most important people to ever be on this damned planet..."  
  
"So you're saying that my hikari isn't important enough to be saved?!"  
  
"Hey, I didn't say anything like that!"  
  
"BUT YOU WERE THINKING IT, WEREN'T YOU?!?!?!"  
  
Malik rolled his eyes. "Bakura, just shut up for a little while. Can't you see that I'm trying to help you?"  
  
Bakura sighed. "Yeah, it's just...something doesn't seem right about...about everything that's been happening lately. First Yugi is murdered and I'm accused and now Ryou's run off to who-knows-where and won't talk to me... It's just...so confusing!"  
  
"Try talking to him again."  
  
"I can't. He'll yell at me."  
  
"Bakura," Marik grinned. "You've lost your touch! There's no way you'll be able to handle all seven Millennium Items if you can't even control your own hikari! You might as well just give me the Eye right now."  
  
Bakura's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and maybe I can think of a new place for the Eye to go, like up you're a---"  
  
"Are we going to find Ryou or not?" Malik interrupted.  
  
Bakura sighed. "I'll try to contact him again..."  
  
* * *  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Yeah, I know, terrible place to cut off. And it's not long enough to even *begin* to justify my lack of updates! Oh well... I have to save *something* for the next chappie... ^_^' How many of you realized what happened with the whole "Yami Yugi" thing? Oh, and Hikaru's not an original charrie. It's just an alias. Cookies to whoever can guess who he is.  
  
Chibi Bakura: Pwease review! ^_^ 


	15. A Ray of Hope

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Wow... I didn't update too long ago, and look! Another update! Whoo! Go me! *happy dance* Anyways, lots and lots of thanks to my reviewers: Carmen5-Nemrac, Lightning Sage, MENace tenCHI, Bakuras_Hell, Dark-Autumn, Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru, and Xyza!!!!!! None of you guessed who Hikaru was. I sort of don't remember who I picked, so I'll just randomly think of someone... I don't think he'll come back for a while, but I may be wrong. O I really should write down my ideas....  
  
Chapter 15: A Ray of Hope  
  
~*~Yami's POV~*~  
  
I grabbed the Puzzle from the box that it was in. This scared me. If the Puzzle was in here, then where was Yugi...? I threw open the door to the closet that I was in and saw a long, white hall on the other side with too many other doors and turns to count.  
  
I stepped out of the closet, and the door closed behind me on its own accord. I stared down the hallway, pondering which way to go. I was thinking of going down the right side of the hallway and opening up every door until I found my light or had gotten back to this Ra forsaken closet when a woman with curly blonde hair and a white uniform turned down one of the corners with a tray of what looked like needles. She did a double take at me and screamed, dropping her tray of needles.  
  
Immediately, every door along the hallway burst open. Thousands of heads peered past the door frames and looked at the nurse, who was still staring at me. Slowly, the heads turned their gazes towards me...  
  
I looked around. There was nowhere for me to go. Here I was, Pharaoh, and I was quivering under the steady gazes of the people that I should be controlling.  
  
Damn.  
  
A man turned a corner of one of the hallways branching off the corridor. He took one look at me and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" he commanded.  
  
I searched my brain. I guess telling the truth wouldn't hurt... There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. And if my light was here, what can they do to stop me from getting to him?  
  
"I'm looking for someone," I answered.  
  
The man smiled through pursed lips. "Then why don't you have a visitor's badge?" he taunted.  
  
"A...visitor's badge...?"  
  
"Yes, it's what you get when you walk through the front doors. You *did* walk through the front doors, didn't you?"  
  
I took a deep breath. "Does it matter?" I asked calmly, my eyes suddenly staring at this man with hatred. How dare he stop the Pharaoh from seeing his hikari?!  
  
"It does. Someone might mistake you as a terrorist."  
  
"Listen," I snapped. "Don't be so paranoid! I just want to see someone who's very important to me! So why don't you just fucking move and tell me where the hell my hikari is?!"  
  
The heads staring out through the doors retreated a little. They must be able to feel the rage radiating off of me.  
  
I looked at the man and then back at the people. One of the heads had actually come out farther and was looking at me with intense curiosity. He had blonde hair that stuck out a bit at the front—sort of like a mullet—and dark brown eyes. He walked out further, and I realized who it was.  
  
"Joey?"  
  
Joey nodded. "Hey, Yami, what's up? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm looking for Yugi. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Yugi?" asked the lady that had the tray of needles. "Yugi Motou?"  
  
I turned my head until my eyes had met hers. She shuddered. "Yes. Do you know him?"  
  
The lady nodded tentatively. "He was in my ward about fifteen minutes ago, but...there's no hope for him... He's gone."  
  
My eyes narrowed. "Where is he currently?"  
  
"He was shipped off to the crematorium naught two minutes ago. His grandfather said that that's what we should do..."  
  
My breath hitched. Yugi had said that one of his friend's grandparents had been cremated. When I asked him what this was, he told me that they would burn the bodies instead of burying them. I couldn't stand for this to happen to my light even if he *was* dead... "Where is the crematorium?"  
  
"About two miles southeast from here."  
  
I ran as quickly as I could. I had no idea what I was going; my feet moved on their own accord. I took the first right that I found and ran faster than I ever had in my life—even faster than I had when I was told that my birth mother had just died, minus the fact that my legs were only half as long.  
  
Pretty soon I had reached a pair of glass doors leading outside. I pushed through them and continued running. I reached a highway and guessed which way was southeast. No one was going to burn my hikari without my permission. Especially not since...  
  
I ran even faster, ignoring my paining heart, struggling to get enough oxygen throughout my body.  
  
-*-  
  
~*~Ryou's POV~*~  
  
I opened my eyes partially and could see three indistinct figures of people staring down at me. They began speaking to each other in Chinese, but my muddled brain couldn't sort out the words correctly, especially since I only know a little bit of the language.  
  
"What should we do with the hippo?"  
  
"We could annoy him with out made-up space language."  
  
"Or we could set his panda on fire."  
  
"Let's do the chicken dance!"  
  
I opened up my eyes the rest of the way and immediately closed them again. The rain had started up once more and it was now getting in my eyes. Come to think of it, I don't even remember when the rain had stopped...  
  
"He's awake! Get him below deck!"  
  
"Feed him Spam and chicken guts! He needs to be king when he wakes up so the mongooses can question him."  
  
I groaned. I didn't want to even *try* to sort out any more words. Nothing was making sense at the moment.  
  
"Leave him up here."  
  
A fourth shadow of a person appeared above me. I hope they try to kill me. I *want* to die. I hope Lucifer will make my life hell when I get down there...  
  
The fourth person put his hand on my head. "He's a bit rubber ducky."  
  
I wrenched my head away from his hand and immediately wished I hadn't. My head began spinning, and I couldn't even see straight.  
  
"Kid careful be."  
  
I snapped my eyes shut and tried to focus on the darkness around me. It didn't work. My head still hurt. Instead I began to focus on each and every individual raindrop falling on my face. Unconsciousness began to grab a hold of me, and I began to slip further into the darkness...  
  
Someone grabbed my shoulders and shook me.  
  
"Awake kid stay!"  
  
I moaned. Why did Fate hate me so much?! I didn't mean to kill Yugi! I don't know what came over me!!!  
  
"I'm sorry!!!" I suddenly yell out.  
  
The people around me took a few steps back.  
  
"What is bubble gum?"  
  
I shake my head slightly, hoping that by doing this I'll be able to figure out what they're saying better. It makes it a little better, but not as much as I had hoped, especially since I now had a throbbing pain at the base of my neck.  
  
"Yoshi!" one of the men around me said sharply to the man next to him. "Get this kid water some!"  
  
While I couldn't exactly understand what he was saying, the man named Yoshi did. He ran off and brought me a glass of water. I don't know why. All I had to do was open my mouth... They must not have noticed the rain...  
  
"Can you throw up, kid?"  
  
I looked up curiously at Yoshi. I *must* have mistranslated *that* one... Of course I could throw up! The pain in my head made me feel as if I could hurl for the rest of my life, but I wasn't going to.  
  
He held out his hand as if to help me sit up.  
  
Ah, sit. Not throw.  
  
If I ever stop running away from being a murderer and all of the laws completely change to say that murder is illegal and Yami somehow forgives me and *doesn't* want to kill me, I'm going to touch up on my Chinese. You never know when you'll murder someone, get kidnapped, jump off a boat, and then be rescued by some Chinese-speaking people. It could happen to anyone at any time.  
  
Not really.  
  
Only to people with crazy and deranged 5,000-year-old spirits residing in objects that hang around your neck. I mean, that only takes out almost literally all of the population. That would leave only me unless Malik decided to tie a string around the Rod and make it into a necklace. That'd be pretty weird, though...  
  
I took Yoshi's hand and let him help me sit up. My head began spinning again. He handed me the glass of water. I drank some slowly, and my head began to hurt a little less. I suppose filtered water *is* a bit different than rain water...  
  
Okay, more than a bit.  
  
"What's your name, kid?" one of the others asked me.  
  
"R...Kaeru," I lied. "Shizura Kaeru."  
  
"Well, Kaeru," he continued. "I'm Sven. What brings you all the way out here?"  
  
"I..." I couldn't think of a lie. If I didn't lie and told him everything that had happened, I would one, confuse him, and two, he would probably kill me on the spot. There were too many witnesses that would repeat my story close enough to match what had happened. I couldn't risk it. Even though I did want to die, I didn't want to be viciously slaughtered by these men that I didn't even know.  
  
Yami should be the one to kill me.  
  
It was his light.  
  
His poor light...  
  
A song that I had heard a few days ago began to play in my head.  
  
*We don't know why, the innocent die  
  
Will this world ever find a way to change  
  
And we don't know why, but we know it's not right  
  
Don't know why so many had to die  
  
I don't know why so many had to die*  
  
~*~  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: A tad shorter than I had hoped, but oh well. I'm wondering how many of you are understanding what's happening with Yami. I figured out a glitch in Yugi's death and that's how it's being played out. ^_^' Anyways, you can still guess who Hikaru is. No one's gotten it yet. I'm kind of stuck on how to fit him in, but oh well. 


	16. A Chance of Life

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Muahahaha!!! I have come bringing gifts of another chappie!!! As well as thanks to my reviewers!!! Arigatou MENace tenCHI, Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru (I fixed up the part that you told me about. Thank you soo much for bringing it to my attention!! ^_^), Bakuras-Hell, Lightning Sage, Fuzzle-sama and R.O.M. (*huggles R.O.M., Chibi R.O.M., and Kuri-san* Well, I forgot where I was going to put R.O.M. in...again... BUT I WILL REMEMBER!!! ...OOH!!! I JUST THOUGHT OF ANOTHER PART!!! ...At the rate this is going, R.O.M.'s going to have about fifty parts... ^^;), Carmen5-Nemrac, KokoroHikaru (This chappie doesn't have as much POV changing or cursing. Most of the time when it's a POV it's because I want to get some of their thoughts in, and the cursing is usually stuck in when I'm in a bad mood...but right now I'm happy! I don't know why, but I am! ^_^), Dark-Autumn (Nope! Marik's not Hikaru! ^_^), and DemonSurfer!!! Arigatougozaimasu!!!! *bows*  
  
Marikay: This is the chappie where all of the Yami stuff is revealed! Muahaha!!  
  
Chapter 16: A Chance of Life  
  
Bakura paced back and forth across the room. "First he won't let me speak to him, and now he's closed the link... What the hell is wrong with Ryou today?!"  
  
"Bakura..."  
  
"He's always come to me with his problems. Why is today any different?"  
  
"Bakura..."  
  
"If something's wrong sometimes he'll *force* me to listen... What's wrong...?"  
  
"BAKURA!!!"  
  
Bakura shook his head and looked up. Malik was standing right in front of him and shaking his shoulders, calling his name over and over.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Stop pacing and muttering," said Malik, letting go of Bakura's shoulders. "It's making me feel nauseous."  
  
"Sorry I'm worried," said Bakura sarcastically. "And if he dies, then I'll have to be sealed in the Ring for a few more millennia."  
  
Miles away, Yami was thinking the same thing under a different context.  
  
'If Yugi's really dead, then why haven't I been sealed back into the Puzzle yet...?' Yami slowed down as he saw a large sign loom in front of him: "Domino Crematorium."  
  
(A/N: I've never been to a crematorium (nor do I plan on it... *shudder, shudder*), so if I screw up on something, please point it out to me so that I can correct it.)  
  
The parking lot had a total of three cars in it. Yami didn't even slow when he almost ran into one, one of the buckles of his jacket leaving a rather large scratch in it. He wrenched open the door and ran in. He got to the front desk where a rather spooky-looking woman sat watching him intently. Yami stopped running and almost collapsed onto the ground as he tried to regain his breath.  
  
"Yugi Motou," he gasped out. "Where...?"  
  
The woman raised an eyebrow but began to type a few things into her computer. "He's scheduled to be cremated tomorrow morning at 9:15. Are you here to schedule his funeral?"  
  
Yami shook his head, still trying to stop his heart from pounding. "No... Not...dead... Where...now...?"  
  
"He's in the freezer."  
  
Yami didn't know what that meant, but it didn't sound good. "Where's...that...?"  
  
"Umm...Did you want some water or something...?"  
  
Yami shook his head. "Need...to find...Yugi..."  
  
"Well...he's sort of...dead."  
  
"No...not dead..."  
  
"Are you sure you don't want some water...? Or an anti-depressant...?"  
  
Yami shook his head. "I'm fine... Need...hikari..."  
  
"Well, there's plenty of light here..."  
  
"No...Yugi...my hikari..." Yami took a deep breath of air and marveled at how well this got his racing heart to go down.  
  
"Well...I'm afraid I can't let you see him... It's against our policy..."  
  
"Look... I really need...to see him..."  
  
The woman picked up a phone off her desk and pushed a few buttons. When she spoke, her voice echoed throughout the whole crematorium: "Dr. Long to the front desk, please."  
  
A man in a white lab coat walked in through a door near the back. "What?" he snapped.  
  
The woman motioned to Yami and then buried herself behind a magazine.  
  
"Yugi Motou," Yami said, his voice shaking a bit still as his heart still hadn't calmed down yet. "Where is he?"  
  
Dr. Long shrugged. "He's probably in the freezer. That's what we do with those who are dead."  
  
"HE'S—NOT—DEAD!!!" The Eye of Horus (A/N: ...I think that's what it is... I'm really not sure...) began to glow on his forehead, and his eyes narrowed into slits.  
  
Dr. Long stepped back a little bit. "Then why would he be here...?"  
  
"Misunderstanding," said Yami sharply.  
  
Dr. Long nodded and ran back into the room. He came back out five minutes later with Yugi on a hospital tray (A/N: Do those have a name...? Do you have any idea what I'm talking about...?) and retreated quickly back into the room. "Do whatever you want with him," he said as the doors closed behind him. "Just, please leave..."  
  
Yami stepped out of the crematorium just as Joey pulled in. He, Tristan, Téa, and Otogi stepped out of the car and stared at Yami. Yami didn't know when he was more grateful to see his friends...and when he wanted to see them less.  
  
"Yami," said Téa softly. "Why? Yugi's dead..."  
  
Yami shook his head sharply, his hair bouncing everywhere. "If he was dead, then I wouldn't be here."  
  
Joey reached back into the car and pulled out the box with all of Yugi's stuff in it. "The nurse gave us this before we left," he explained. He pulled out the Puzzle and put it around Yugi's neck, making sure that the chain didn't touch the wound on his neck.  
  
"Joey," said Yami to his friend. "Would you bring me by the Ishtar's apartment? Marik was the last person who was with Yugi, and I would really like some answers."  
  
Joey nodded. "I think I would, too..."  
  
"Well...I'm not sure if Marik would let you in..."  
  
Téa shuddered. "I don't think I'd *want* to go in."  
  
Otogi and Tristan shook their heads in agreement.  
  
Yami started to put Yugi in the back seat of the car.  
  
"Eh, sorry, Yami," said Joey slowly, "but...I don't exactly want...dead bodies in my car..."  
  
"WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT HE'S *NOT* DEAD?!?!?!" Yami yelled at the top of his lungs, his temper finally snapped.  
  
"I don't know...," said Otogi slowly. "He looks pretty dead to me..."  
  
Yami turned around slowly and glared at Otogi, the Eye of Horus shining on his head.  
  
"Or he looks perfectly healthy!" Otogi corrected quickly.  
  
With a final glare, Yami crawled into the back seat next to his light.  
  
-*-  
  
"So really you're just worried about Ryou because he might die?" Marik asked, not really paying attention to what was going on but was instead flipping through the channels on Malik's TV. "Whoa! You guys have porn?! ...Never mind. It's just MTV."  
  
"No, that's not the only reason!" said Bakura defensively.  
  
"So there's another reason?" Marik teased.  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Aww, has the tomb raider gotten attached to his hikari...? Ick. Home and gardening channel. ...Wait! This is the episode with that house that nearly falls apart on top of them!" He turned up the volume, and Malik and Bakura gave him an odd look.  
  
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.  
  
Malik walked over and opened it up. "Pharaoh?!"  
  
"Malik." Yami walked in carrying a small bundle in his arms. "I just needed to ask your yami a question or..." He spotted Bakura sitting on the couch next to Marik, both of them staring intently at the TV. "What's *HE* doing here?!?!?!"  
  
Malik shrugged. "He practically lives here..."  
  
Yami put the bundle down and grabbed the nearest thing to him—a knife lying on a small table—and rushed at Bakura. Malik grabbed his arms and forced the knife out of his hands. Bakura looked up and glared.  
  
"What do you want?" Bakura snarled.  
  
"I came to ask Marik something, but now I can get revenge on my hikari!!!"  
  
"I didn't do anything to your light!!! He was dead when I got there!!!"  
  
"Can you guys keep it down?" Marik snapped. "I'm trying to watch this! See? You made me miss the sound effects of the guy dropping the hammer on his foot!"  
  
"Yami, shut up and help!" Malik yelled at Marik, slowly being dragged forward by Yami.  
  
"Yami, just sit down," said Marik casually. "Bakura didn't do anything to your light."  
  
Yami glared. "You know who did?"  
  
Marik nodded.  
  
"...Well?"  
  
"Hold on, this is the best part."  
  
Malik walked over and turned off the TV.  
  
"Hey! I was watching that!"  
  
"Yami, this is important!"  
  
"...What are we talking about?"  
  
Yami picked up the bundle and stuck it on the couch. They looked over and saw Yugi's pale head sticking out of a bunch of blankets. "The near-murder of my light!" Yami snarled.  
  
"He's not dead?" Marik and Bakura asked simultaneously in disbelief.  
  
"But he had a knife shoved through his neck!" Marik continued.  
  
"I know, but how can he be dead if I'm still here?"  
  
"Wait a minute," said Malik slowly. "What the hell is going on here?!"  
  
"Bakura almost killed my light," said Yami angrily.  
  
"But I didn't!" Bakura protested. "I'm as lost as you are!"  
  
All heads turned towards Marik, who had taken it upon himself to stare resolutely out the window. "I saw the whole thing...," he whispered.  
  
"Care to tell us what happened?" Yami said coldly.  
  
"Yeah...Ryou did it."  
  
* * *  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: w00t! I finished!!! Poor Ryou... He's going to have a very pissed Yami coming after him... I should get his POV of Yugi's death as well as the comeback of "Hikaru" in the next chapter. Dark-Autumn is probably the closest to guessing who it is, but it's still nowhere near correct. Those who guess right gets the next chappie dedicated to them as well as a cookie! ^_^  
  
Indie: She finally finished her drawing, too!!! But she still has to find somewhere to put it... Her website's not being too nice to her right now... Once it's up, she'll put the link in her bio as well as the next chappie.  
  
Muses: Please review! ^_^ 


	17. Out of Control

Innocence?  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: I know you guys are probably pretty anxious to see Yami spaz out at Ryou, but first thing's first... Erg, I can't tell you. Just read. ' Anyways, muchos gracias to my wonderful reviewers: Bakuras- Hell, Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru (You guessed who Hikaru is!!! I can't tell you who it is now, but you'll find out in this chapter! '), Carmen5- Nemrac, KokoroHikaru (Actually, I got the name "Hikaru" from the main character of "Hikaru no Go." I was reading it out of Shonen Jump, and since I was trying to think of a good name, I picked Hikaru... '), Dark-Autumn (Well, it's like him because he took over this person. His identity is shown in this chapter, so read on and find out who he is! Bum bum buuum! ' (Marikay-muse: coughlame!cough), and Fuzzle and R.O.M. (...What does "ave" mean...? huggles R.O.M., Chibi R.O.M., and Kuri-san Has Chibi R.O.M. gotten over his flu yet? (Muses: FUZZLE-SAMA!!!! huggle Fuzzle- sama) Er...I kinda like Malik, so I think he gets to live this chapter... Sorry R.O.M.... ')!!!!! Thank you so much!!!   
  
Chapter 17: Out of Control  
  
Ryou looked up at Sven, trying to figure out what to tell him. A few other people on the boat had gathered around him to hear the story of why the albino had jumped off the ship carrying the Seto Kaiba and why he was even out here. "I..." He didn't dare tell the truth; he had already decided against that. The only thing left was to lie, and he wasn't very good at that. "Well..." He looked around him at the anxious eyes staring at him.  
  
Sven held up a hand. "I'm sorry Shizura Kaeru. I shouldn't have asked. All you need right now is sleep."  
  
Out of all of that, all Ryou caught was Shizura, Kaeru, I, and sleep. He blinked. "Eh..." His head began to spin again, and he brought up his hands to try to stop the dizziness.  
  
"You speak Japanese better, don't you?" Sven chuckled, reverting to Japanese.  
  
Ryou shook his head happily but stopped immediately as nausea swept over him once more. He clasped his hands to his head and moaned, trying to fight the bile back down to his stomach.  
  
"You need rest," Sven said plainly. He snapped his fingers and three sailors immediately came up to him. "Taijobou, Tetsuo, Ansono. Take Kaeru to my quarters and let him rest. Make sure that no one bothers him until he is ready to speak."  
  
The three sailors nodded. Taijobou and Tetsuo linked their arms under Ryou's weak body and helped him stagger to the room while Ansono went ahead to open the door and make sure the room was decent before they laid Ryou down into the bed. The quarters were nice enough that Ryou began to guess that Sven was either the captain or the first mate.  
  
The three sailors left the room, closing the door behind them, and sleep began to claim Ryou...  
  
The following is Ryou's dream, so it's in Ryou's POV  
  
I found myself back on the streets of Domino retracing the route that I had taken that morning. I hoped that I wouldn't meet up with Yugi like I had done in real life, but I knew that I had no control over this dream.  
  
I saw Yugi's hair bobbing up and down in front of me. I hadn't been paying attention when this had happened earlier, and I noticed that Yugi hadn't been, either.  
  
We bumped into each other.  
  
I could have stopped it in my dream...  
  
But I had no control.  
  
I tried to scream, to get Yugi to leave, but I wouldn't. I vaguely heard him apologize and felt myself telling him that it was all right. No, it's not all right! I'm about to kill you! I can feel the blade of the knife in the palm of my hand as I reach into my pocket. Run, Yugi! Please! I don't want to go through this again! Once is enough! Please!  
  
"Where are you going so early in the morning?" Yugi asked me.  
  
I felt like crying, but I stayed cool and collected. I was reliving what had happened earlier without any say or control. I didn't mean to! I promise! Just let me leave this dream world!  
  
"I was just taking a walk to clear my thoughts, and to get away from Bakura." I could feel myself smiling. Oh, why did I have to be so protective over that bastard? Why can't I just leave already?!  
  
"Yeah. Bakura really is a fuck head."  
  
Here we go.  
  
That little comment that had pissed me off so much. I didn't understand why no one would ever give Bakura a chance! He was never really mean to me except when he would take over my body...but that didn't mean every one else had to hate him! They gave Malik and Marik a chance! Why not Bakura?  
  
Here I go again.  
  
The rage.  
  
I was never known to have a temper because nothing really ever ticked me off before. I usually dismissed it with a smile, but I'm protective over my yami.  
  
He is part of me, right...?  
  
"You know, technically we're the same person..."  
  
"So?"  
  
I heard the snap in his voice. Then, I hadn't really thought about why he had been using that tone, but now I realized that he was probably just tired. He never was a morning person, and got really angry sometimes. One time I had spent the night, and he nearly ended up gutting me when I accidentally woke him up trying to find the bathroom.  
  
I felt my hand reach back into my pocket and fiddle with the knife. Bakura's knife... It reminded me of him, which reminded me of Yugi's comment, which made me angry.  
  
This knife is the cause of the poor boy's death, in more ways than one.  
  
Yugi tried to turn the conversation away from Bakura. "What's that?" he had asked. Yeah. Real far away.  
  
I didn't say anything. I was pretty pissed off at that point. Once my blood begins to boil, there's no stopping me. There's only one thing to save anyone: turn around and run.  
  
RUN, DAMN IT!  
  
I pulled out the knife and showed it to him.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Yugi asked. I could detect fear in his voice, and it made me smile. I don't know why, but it felt...wonderful to have someone finally be afraid of me. I was used to having people pick on me and beat me up, but to have someone be afraid! Oh, it was wonderful! It made me feel stronger than I had ever been, like I could finally stand up for myself.  
  
"Bakura," I felt myself tell Yugi.  
  
Here we go.  
  
We're getting closer.  
  
Run, little Yugi.  
  
PLEASE!  
  
I swear I didn't mean to do it!  
  
I don't know what came over me!  
  
Anubis, take my soul now so I don't have to relive this.  
  
"That fuck head!" Yugi yelled. "Why would he let you have this.  
  
'He didn't...'  
  
A frown spread over my face and I heard myself say, "I still don't like you calling my yami a fuck head. He might be one, but that gives you no right to rub it in my face...especially since we're the same person..."  
  
WHY WON'T YOU RUN?!  
  
"Well then, what should I call him?! If he gives you knives to play with, then he shouldn't be here on this planet!"  
  
Well, why shouldn't he be here?! He didn't ask to be conceived! He can't help how he turned out! Yami's nice because he didn't have to go through what Bakura did to survive! All he had to do was snap his fingers, and he would get whatever he wanted! Bakura had to work for what he needed! There wasn't even any room for want! WHY CAN'T YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT HE HAS EVERY RIGHT THAT EVERY ONE ELSE HAS? WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT HIM INTO SOCIETY?!  
  
Damn, I'm pissed in both time frames.  
  
'Why does the pharaoh's light get to have everything?'  
  
I had watched the movie "SE7EN" the other day. (A/N: Yes, they can do that. :P) In the movie, "John Doe" had killed people for the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, adultery, pride, envy, and rage. For envy, John Doe had killed Brad Pitt's wife since he had envied their wonderful family. Maybe I was being played along by these sins... I feel almost envious of how wonderful Yugi's yami is compared to mine...  
  
I was pissed, rage coursing through me.  
  
There we go, back to the deadly sins.  
  
Maybe I am just a puppet being played along by some fitful child who has not quite mastered the movements of the strings yet.  
  
This child has one sick sense of humor.  
  
I brought the knife down into Yugi's throat. It seemed so right at the time, but now I felt myself screaming, screaming like the poor boy could no longer do. I felt myself telling him something, but I no longer listened. I was trying to claw my way out of this body that had somehow turned evil. Even though it was only a dream...  
  
DOES THIS CHILD KNOW NO PITY?!  
  
WHEN CAN I GAIN CONTROL, OR DO I HAVE TO CONTINUE BEING A PUPPET TO THIS CRAZED VENTRILOQUIST?!  
  
Lord, have pity on my soul...  
  
I felt myself picking up Yugi's body and dumping into a dumpster as if he was only trash, something that I had picked up off the streets like litter.  
  
I wanted to go home.  
  
I wish none of this had ever happened.  
  
It had felt so right at the time.  
  
Now I am disgusted with myself.  
  
Fate is so cruel...  
  
And what would Bakura think of me now?! I had done this for him, but...he would never want Yugi KILLED! Especially not now when he and the pharaoh were trying to get along better...  
  
A song began to play through his head...  
  
Once I ran to you (I ran)  
  
Now I run from you  
  
This tainted love you given,  
  
I give you all a boy could give you  
  
Take my tears, and that's not nearly---  
  
Oh, tainted love  
  
(A/N: "Tainted Love" doesn't belong to me. I don't know if I typed the lyrics right. I did them at the top of my head... ' By the way, does anyone know who that song is by...?)  
  
The first two lines of the chorus seemed to get stuck and began to play over and over in his mind.  
  
Once I ran to you (I ran)  
  
Now I run from you  
  
Now I run from  
  
Now I run from  
  
Once I ran  
  
Now I run...  
  
--  
  
Hikaru stormed into the room, his navy blue cloak billowing behind him. He smashed Fushidara into a wall and practically exploded.  
  
"HOW COULD YOU LET HIM ESCAPE, YOU MORON?! YOU TOLD ME YOURSELF THAT THEY WERE THE BEST MEN YOU HAD!!!"  
  
"It's not my fault they screwed up!" Fushidara countered. "At least we still have the Kaiba brothers!"  
  
"Yes, but Ryou could be going to the police RIGHT NOW and telling them EVERYTHING!" Hikaru brought back his fist and smashed it into the wall, leaving a rather large hole behind.  
  
"Calm down, 'Hikaru,'" Bones taunted as he walked into the room. "Ryou is nothing. I saw what went on in the streets today. Little Yugi has been killed. Ryou is probably off somewhere grieving...or running from the shame his yami has caused him."  
  
"This coming from someone who had his soul trapped by this murderer."  
  
"And this coming from someone who had their mind taken over by the murderer's 'friend,' if you could call it that...Keith." Bones snarled out the name with such seeming hatred that Keith jumped a little.  
  
"So, do we understand what's going on or not?" Keith asked, trying to keep his voice level. "We've caught the Kaiba brothers to take over Kaiba Corp., but we need a bit of, ah, 'motivation,' so to speak. Ryou was to be this motivation. He would have lured his friends there, and Kaiba would watch the only humans he's interacted with die...one by one..."  
  
"But what about Yugi?" Fushidara asked, having finally been dropped by 'Hikaru.' "Now that he's dead, would Kaiba really have the same motivation?"  
  
Keith shrugged. "Maybe. But is Yugi really dead...?"  
  
Bones laughed humorlessly. "You must not have seen what I had. I saw the knife in his neck when his yami brought him out of the dumpster."  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
Everyone else looked confused.  
  
Keith rubbed his temples. "While my mind was being taken over by Malik, I heard things. I'm guessing that Yami wouldn't even be there unless he had a host—Yugi. Hence, Yugi would need to be alive for Yami to still be there..."  
  
Comprehension began to dawn on everyone's faces.  
  
Keith whirled around to face Fushidara. "Do you have any other men to spare? We need to pay Yugi a little, ah, visit..."  
  
So much hate!  
  
So little time...  
  
So much hate!  
  
So little time...  
  
(A/N: "So Much Hate" belongs to Slipknot, KoRn, System of a Down, and about 50 billion others that I don't remember off the top of my head right now... ')  
  
Mystical Knight Dragon: Hmm... I actually think that I did pretty well on that chapter... I hope I didn't get too annoying with all of the songs, but I had quite a few of them stuck in my head... '  
  
Marikay: She's still trying to get her picture to work... --' If you want to see it, tell her in a review, and she'll e-mail it to you. (Make sure to leave your e-mail address.)  
  
Chibi Bakura: Pwease review! 


	18. Puddle of Angst

**Innocence?**

Mystical Knight Dragon: Ugh, it's been _so long _since I updated, mainly because I was angered by that evil QuickEdit thing. It's really annoying… I don't know how anyone can stand it. It doesn't let you use asterisks, carats, underscores, the and sign, etc. It's eeeeviiiil! Evil, I tell you! …In other words, I would like to thank my reviewers for sticking around with me for so long, but especially Caecuslupa and Silently Broken. They reviewed just the other day, reminding me that I still have fans for this story and that I needed to get my butt in gear and update again! It's been over eight months! I could have died at least twenty times in that period of time and no one would have known! …Yeah. Sooo… Ah, yes! Much thanks to the rest of my reviewers as well! Bakuras-Hell (I don't remember if I sent you the picture or not… It's been so long that I can't remember… T.T), Dark Magician Girl / Hikaru, Dark-Autumn, KokoroHikaru, Fuzzle-sama, Hiei Lover Girl, and of course, Caecuslupa and Silently Broken.

Marikay-muse: Ah yes…What happened to all of the good ficcies? A few years ago, every fic you clicked on was abso-bloody-lutely wonderful! Now that has a giant stick up its arse and a huge fetish for censoring everything in sight, nothing is worth reading anymore.

Indie-muse: Our challenge to you is to let MKD read some good ficcies again…pwease? She's getting desperate… :P

Disclaimer: Wow, I haven't written one of these in _forever! _For the past six months of writing I've done (which was on I've owned the characters. Oh, and I don't own these. XP

And now, here is the chapter that I've taken over six months' break on! (Marikay: It had better be good, ne?)

And now (finally)…

_Chapter 18: Puddle of Angst (Otherwise Known As…OMK, MKD ACTUALLY UPDATED!)_

Marik's words spun through Yami's head, tumbling over and over in a fit of confusion. _Ryou _had killed Yugi! There had to have been some mistake… Maybe he had said _harpoon _instead of _Ryou_…or—or _something! _But…Ryou wouldn't even swat at the summer-time mosquitoes much less kill someone…!

"What do you mean by this?" Bakura snarled. "How dare you accuse my light of—?"

"But he's not dead, you said," stated Marik in an offhand way, completely ignoring the others in the room. "Then, that's good."

"Marik…," Yami said warningly. "Explain yourself."

Marik shrugged and turned the television back on. "Why don't you go ask Ryou about it? Or Yugi, now that he's alive?"

The Eye of Horus shown brightly on Yami's forehead. "Marik!" he roared. "If you don't answer me right now—!"

Marik didn't let Yami finish his sentence; he had decided that he had pushed his luck too far. With a wave of his hand, he explained, "Yugi was walking to the store and met up with Ryou. They exchanged a few words, and whatever Yugi said pissed off Ryou…and he killed him."

"Why didn't you do anything to stop him?" Yami snapped.

"There wasn't any time! The knife was in Yugi's neck before I could do anything. It's your light's fault in part, too; he didn't even want me near him."

"That's because you'd scare the shit out of even the Grim Reaper!"

Marik and Yami were practically at each other's throats by that point, on the verge of sending the other to the Shadow Realm.

"Hey, guys," Malik interrupted nervously. "Why don't we see if Bakura can't contact his light yet?"

All eyes turned towards Bakura, and he shifted nervously under their stares.

"All right… I'll try again…but I don't know if he'll answer back…"

Ryou?

/Mmphffmm…… What/

"He answered!"

…Change POV—(Third Person) Ryou's POV…

Ryou sat up suddenly in the bed, the dream awakening him suddenly. He was extremely hot and he was sweating profusely. It was bad enough that he had to live through Yugi's murder once, but to dream about it as well… It was like going to Hell and back…and back again…and again…

He let his head rest back on the pillow, not really wanting to go back to sleep, but having no choice not to, either. The Chinese sailors would be back any minute to question him any minute, and he needed to be fully alert.

He closed his eyes, and Yugi's face immediately popped up in his mind. His eyes shot open; his breath came out in shallow puffs.

_Why can't I get away from him…? He's everywhere…!_

He leaned over and retched.

Unfortunately for him, that was the moment that his yami tried contacting him once more.

Ryou?

/ Mmphffmm…… What/

He felt Bakura's relief and happiness wash through him, and it was almost enough to make him sick again.

Ryou! Tell me what happened!

/Bakura, I—I don't know how to tell you… But Kaiba! Kaiba's in trouble/

That bastard can wait! All I care about right now is you, hikari! Daijobou? Speak to me!

/Bakura… I…I can't…/ Tears streamed down his cheeks. He didn't think he'd _ever _be able to tell his yami what happened… Bakura would never look at him the same way again. He would never trust him…

Trust him…

It took Ryou so long to trust Bakura and for Bakura to return that same trust, but once Ryou told his yami about what had happened in the past few hours, how long would it take to rebuild that trust once more? Years? Decades?

Eons?

Never?

What if they could never trust each other again? Ryou would never be able to take that sort of pain. His yami meant the world to him… He was his other half for chrissakes! What are two halves if there is no trust?

Ryou, just—Fine. We'll talk when I see you. Now where the fuck are you!

/I'm on a boat somewhere…/

What the hell? A boat? What are you doing on one of those? (What _is _a boat, now that I think about it?) Ryou, just tell me where I can find you!

/I—I don't know… I really don't… But you can't worry about me! You have to find Kaiba! He's in trouble/

Yeah, I can see him on this mystical box that Marik's watching… Terevishun, or something. They're talking about a ransom or something, but I don't quite understand—

/_RANSOM!_/

What? Is that bad?

/Oh my Kami, yami! Kaiba—you have to save him! He's with Mokuba! Yami, I—/

Right then, Sven walked into the room, pulled up a chair to the side of the bed, and sat down expectantly. "Shizura? Are you ready to talk now?"

Ryou blinked a few times, letting the room come slowly into focus. "I suppose so… What do you want to know?"

"What is your relation with Seto Kaiba?" Sven demanded.

"We've met…" Ryou trailed off. He didn't know what sorts of answers Sven was expecting, but the word _friend _would have been a highly suspicious term when describing Seto Kaiba. And seeing as how Ryou didn't want anyone to know who he was, he decided to give a bit vaguer of an answer… (A/N: …Vaguer is a word…? Sorry, but that just bothers me… It should definitely be "more vague.")

"How so?" Sven pressed.

Ryou cocked an eyebrow. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing, nothing," Sven said hurriedly. "It's just that _the _Seto Kaiba doesn't just…_meet _people. And now that there's this whole 'ransom' ordeal going on… You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now, would you?"

Ryou decided that playing dumb would be best. He shook his head no. "There's a ransom for him?" Then, deciding to be a bit bolder—"Wait, where were those men on that ship taking him? What's going on?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. But if you can't…then we'll be nearing land soon."

"Where?"

Sven shrugged. "South Korea."

_I'm going to be stuck in South Korea? Shitshitshitshitshit…_

"Unless…you give me some answers."

_Answers? Like what? Shitshitshitshitshit…_

"And if you answer me correctly _Shizura—_we'll make a detour to Fukuoka."

Ryou thought for a moment, then answered slowly and hesitantly, "What do you want to know?"

…Change POV—(Third Person) Kaiba Bros. POV…

Kaiba watched as one of the sailors marched down the stairs, making a good deal more noise than was necessary.

"Get up here!" he snapped. "We're gonna announce our kidnap to the world!"

Kaiba glared but didn't stoop low enough to throw a retort. He took Mokuba by the hand and led him up the stairs, not even looking at the other sailor.

"Come on, Mokuba… Let's see if we can get out of this dump."

The moment they arrived above deck, they were grabbed roughly and thrown in front of a video camera. A few sailors piled behind them, each with black masks (so that their identities could be covered). The first one spoke in Chinese, and the next two translated to Japanese and English:

"Here we have the great Seto Kaiba brought down to his knees. The CEO of the gaming industry doesn't seem so great now, does he? If you want to keep your precious games, Emperor Akihito, bring nine billion yen to the Togachi building in downtown Tokyo. No guns. You treat us nice, and we'll treat you nice. If you don't comply, well…" One of the security guards cocked a gun and placed it behind Mokuba's head. "Then the kid gets it. We will contact you in one hour to further our demands and hear your response."

The camera turned off, and Kaiba was thrown back down the stairs below deck…but not before he heard the distinct voice of Pegasus…

"Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked quietly once they were below deck again. "Nii-sama…Will they really kill me?" He looked up at his big brother and saw that Seto Kaiba, _the _Seto Kaiba, that iron wall of arrogance, had tears in his eyes.

Kaiba reached out and hugged his brother as hard as he could. "No, no, they won't Mokuba… I'll protect you with my life… I won't let them hurt you…"

"N—Nii-sama…?"

Kaiba let go. He had to remain strong for his little brother, but…it was so hard… The thought of losing him… He just couldn't bear it. He meant what he said; he would protect Mokuba with his life.

But now there was the matter of Pegasus. He had distinctly heard him laugh, but he had not, in fact, seen him. Something fishy was going on, and it _was _seeming more and more like one of the sick games Pegasus was likely to come up with…

"Nii-sama? Wh—when can we go home? I—I'm cold…"

Kaiba took his jacket off and wrapped it around his brother's shoulders, shuddering against the cold himself. "We'll be home soon… I promise."

"Just so long as I'm here with you, nii-sama," Mokuba muttered before drifting off to sleep against his brother's shoulder.

A silent tear ran down Kaiba's face and landed softly in Mokuba's thick, black hair. He quickly wiped at his steely blue eyes, but another tear ran down his face just as quickly.

"My, my, what do we have here?" A faint chuckle was heard above. "The great Seto Kaiba has finally fallen."

"What do you want, Pegasus?" Kaiba snarled, mustering up as much hate as he could at the moment, despite his weariness. He didn't even have enough energy to look up at the other man.

"Nothing, nothing…I just want to see you in your last moments of misery and pain." He laughed. That sick, horrible laugh. It crept through Kaiba's bones and made him shiver.

"Do anything you want to me, Pegasus, but don't hurt my little brother!"

"I wouldn't dream about it…" Another laugh, this one worse than before. "Why don't you just try getting some sleep, Kaiba-boy? It may be the last thing you ever do…"

The door above them was shut tightly and the click of a lock could be heard.

_At least the wind isn't blowing now, _Kaiba thought bitterly.

After a few moments, he too began drifting off to sleep, hoping that in the morning, this would all just be a dream…one long, terrible dream…

Just a dream…

…

Mystical Knight Dragon: Whoo! I **_FINALLY _**got this chapter out! I hope it was good enough for your standards… I tried to make it as long as possible…

Marikay-muse: Yeesh, she hasn't updated in so long that she probably doesn't even have any reviewers left. Prove her wrong by leaving a pretty review. c:


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